Over & Under Turkey Gun

[VGJ5]

Hey Raj,

My plan is to put the same style tru-glo sights on the O/U that I have on my 870 (front and rear, the rear being adjustable).  Then, I would adjust the sight to primarily pattern-in the long-range barrel/choke.  I know this would mean that the short-range barrel's POA/POI would be a little off, but it shouln't matter from 20-30 steps with a modified or IC choke.  What do you think?

Gaines

[RAJ]

That sounds like good logic and the possible solution. You certainly want to be most exacting on the longer shots. My obvious problem is that if I select the top bbl and the bird comes on in really close I am stuck with the tightest choke. Always try to make your first shot the bottom barrel as there is less recoil.Therefore I will have to wait for the last moment to switch. OTOH if it is my 870 or BPS I am stuck anyway and have no recourse other than to shoot.

My ideal O/U will have barrel selectors ,24-26 " bbls and 3" 20 gauge. There  is no thought of 3.5" in my O/Us and not even 12 gauge for turkey.


[I have a 870 SM that is punishing enough. Suprisingly my Baikal MP 153 shoots a very acceptable 3.5" load and is my 3.5" gun.]

[muddpuppi]

im goin this weekend to get my chokes set up for my o/u....20ga moss. silver reserve...RAJ, it has the barrel selector built into the safety....when the safe is on yoou just move it to one side or the other to pick ya brl..it also has 26" brls and is no longer in length than my yth 870 20ga....should be sweet when i get her done....

[SumToy]

Hey Raj,

My plan is to put the same style tru-glo sights on the O/U that I have on my 870 (front and rear, the rear being adjustable).  Then, I would adjust the sight to primarily pattern-in the long-range barrel/choke.  I know this would mean that the short-range barrel's POA/POI would be a little off, but it shouln't matter from 20-30 steps with a modified or IC choke.  What do you think?

Gaines

With alot of the O/U you will see top barrel high and bottom low.  Now some I have saw will have one dead on and the other high/low.  I would set it up with the bottom barrel to shoot 1st.  You will not get as much barrel jump out of the gun so if you need to take the 2nd shot you could.   Then most of the time that will put your top barrel high so you can hold low and see him roll.

[RAJ]

Another option is to have the bottom barrel with the 6s or 7s as a first shot and then have a #4 as a second shot round designed to be more of a body shot whether running or flying to break down the bird. Even in modified it could cover close shots or be able to break down a Tom you missed on first shot,
A load of HTL 4s is formidable at 50 yards +.

[Porter]

Craig what chokes are you planning on using and what constriction? 

These are some nice looking O/U's being thrown around here.  Hadn't thought of the barrel selector, so great idea there and probably saved me from buying one that didn't allow me the option to switch back and forth!

The 18.5" barrrel wouldn't completely scare me off.  I have that 870 JR with an 18.5" barrel and that is a flat out shooter, but given that... I'd prefer a longer one if it was an option!

[muddpuppi]

Craig what chokes are you planning on using and what constriction? 

These are some nice looking O/U's being thrown around here.  Hadn't thought of the barrel selector, so great idea there and probably saved me from buying one that didn't allow me the option to switch back and forth!

The 18.5" barrrel wouldn't completely scare me off.  I have that 870 JR with an 18.5" barrel and that is a flat out shooter, but given that... I'd prefer a longer one if it was an option!

Sumtoy    i will let you know what i end up with...they are pretty close to me so im goin to visit William on Sat. and see what we come up with...

[SumToy]

Porter most all of the guns have the barrel selector now days.  Some in the safety, some with the trigger and few have switch in front of trigger.  Now with some of the guns I HATE the saftey because it will go to safe after it is shot.  When you shoot it will not shoot unless you take it off of safe.      Now the big thing is to look at a few see if you like them.  If you have someone that will let you fire a few rounds out of one.  If you like it then go get you a good mid $$$ rang gun.    With the O/U you get what you pay for most of the time until you get around the 8000 to 9000 rang then it is name and looks.

[muddpuppi]

Craig what chokes are you planning on using and what constriction? 

These are some nice looking O/U's being thrown around here.  Hadn't thought of the barrel selector, so great idea there and probably saved me from buying one that didn't allow me the option to switch back and forth!

The 18.5" barrrel wouldn't completely scare me off.  I have that 870 JR with an 18.5" barrel and that is a flat out shooter, but given that... I'd prefer a longer one if it was an option!

Porter i wound up with .562's in both barrels but 2 different style chokes....havnt had the time to shoot 40 yet but at 30 with tss 8's i had a 308 and 330 something...in my o/u....he is building me one for my encore and my 870 20's as well...

[Porter]

Porter most all of the guns have the barrel selector now days.  Some in the safety, some with the trigger and few have switch in front of trigger.  Now with some of the guns I HATE the saftey because it will go to safe after it is shot.  When you shoot it will not shoot unless you take it off of safe.      Now the big thing is to look at a few see if you like them.  If you have someone that will let you fire a few rounds out of one.  If you like it then go get you a good mid $$$ rang gun.    With the O/U you get what you pay for most of the time until you get around the 8000 to 9000 rang then it is name and looks.

Thanks man and I'll catch you this week.  Would love to see what we can come up with for my lil 870 

I'm still thinking of building an O/U for Fall Hunting this year!

[Porter]

Craig what constriction you looking at for your 870? 

[muddpuppi]

Craig what constriction you looking at for your 870? 

William suggested to try the .562 to start with and shoot a lesser load to open it up some for the kids and if i want to shoot it with the tss for more distance...

[thundrchikin]

I have a CZ-Ringneck SxS in a 20ga. that I set up for turkeys a couple years ago. I absolutly love it. It's not the O/U that you all our talking about but I believe the same principles apply. Great to carry, barrels set up for different circumstances, kills at one end instead of two like the big 12's. Good luck to all those looking into doubles,you won't be sorry.

[VGJ5]

Another option is to have the bottom barrel with the 6s or 7s as a first shot and then have a #4 as a second shot round designed to be more of a body shot whether running or flying to break down the bird. Even in modified it could cover close shots or be able to break down a Tom you missed on first shot,
A load of HTL 4s is formidable at 50 yards +.

OOOOO . . . I REALLY like that idea!  One concern I had with using an IC in the close-range barrel was that it would make it useless as a second shot for the long-range gobbler.  Your suggestion would seemingly correct that, and I think a modified would certainly get the job done for close-range shots.  I'm considering Heavishot Magnum 5, 6, 7, for the bottom (long-range/extra-full choke) barrel and Hevishot #4s for the top (close-range/modified choke) barrel.  I'm considering the change from my winchester supreme #5s (and the copper-plated lead, in general) because I didn't like the look of the pellets that I found in turkeys this year.  I suppose it doesn't matter as much if you shoot them in the head, as I do, but that hevishot is very attractive  . 

Porter most all of the guns have the barrel selector now days.  Some in the safety, some with the trigger and few have switch in front of trigger.  Now with some of the guns I HATE the saftey because it will go to safe after it is shot.  When you shoot it will not shoot unless you take it off of safe.      Now the big thing is to look at a few see if you like them.  If you have someone that will let you fire a few rounds out of one.  If you like it then go get you a good mid $$$ rang gun.    With the O/U you get what you pay for most of the time until you get around the 8000 to 9000 rang then it is name and looks.

. 

Sumtoy: do you know which (or any) O/Us that go to safe after the first shot?  I would certainly like to steer clear of those!!!  The barrel selector and instant second shot are two of the main reasons that I want to switch to an O/U.

Thanks,
Gaines

[VGJ5]

Craig what chokes are you planning on using and what constriction? 

These are some nice looking O/U's being thrown around here.  Hadn't thought of the barrel selector, so great idea there and probably saved me from buying one that didn't allow me the option to switch back and forth!

The 18.5" barrrel wouldn't completely scare me off.  I have that 870 JR with an 18.5" barrel and that is a flat out shooter, but given that... I'd prefer a longer one if it was an option!

Porter, the 18.5" on an O/U scares me off a bit, because of what someone mentioned earlier in this thread; the whole lack of the receiver issue (i.e. an 18.5" barrel on an O/U" seems a lot shorter than an 18.5" on an 870).  That being said, I still like the look of that little tactical Maverick! 

I think I'll ultimately end up with a 24", 26", or 28" (only because this seems to be the most available size) barrel for my O/U, simply because I plan on using it for other purposes, in addition to turkey hunting.  I'm going to start building mine within the next month.  The gun show is in two weeks--hopefully I can find a gem there!

I will be building mine to use for next Spring though, because some jerks got rid of the fall seasons in most AL counties back in the 70s or 80s.    I wish the powers that be would change that back to the way it used to be . . .

Gaines