Why Over and Under?

[CK_32]

IM AWESOME!!!

^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^

Oh sorry I saw everyone else doing it got a little excited

[Capybara]

I have shot both for trap and sporting clays.

#1. that nobody mentioned - CLEANING! My semi-auto isn't that hard to clean but it takes a while and is a bit of a PITA. O/U, remove the forearm, snap it open, remove the barrel assembly, takes about 2 seconds.

#2. Separate chokes for trap and SC. Love this feature, really nice for long distance follow ups or when shooting doubles.

3. Reliability - hardly any moving parts versus a semi with all of it's parts and gas tube. Even a pump has a lot more moving parts. More moving parts generally = less reliability.

4. Balance - Follow through is tremendously important when shooting clays or hunting and the extra forward weight of an O/U helps me a lot of with more effective follow through.

When it all comes down to it, none of this matters, I see plenty of clays shooters with semis and pumps who shoot really well, an O/U won't make you a better shooter, it really comes down to skills. Some of us just prefer an O/U for these little reasons.

[glug]

Phil Bourjaily just answered this on Gun Nuts this week. He said he preferred an over-under to a semi-auto because it's easier to collect the spent brass for reloading. I'm sure there are other reasons too but that made sense to me.

[BigDogatPlay]

The best answer I can offer is better vision. You can see better with barrels stacked rather than side-by-side.

^^^This^^^ and that SxS guns offer something of a geometry problem for your eyes to resolve that O/U and single barrel guns don't.

Your visual plane is down the rib as it should be, but the barrels are off to each side. Even if they are well regulated to each other the barrels are still starting off the visual plane and you have to learn to resolve that with your swing and lead. I've seen good single barrel and O/U shooters struggle with a SxS.

[AAShooter]

The best answer I can offer is better vision. You can see better with barrels stacked rather than side-by-side. The US likes over-and-unders while Europe favors side-by-sides.

[steve91104]

Lots of posts explaining why two barrels are preferred over one. But why choose over and under instead of two barrels side by side?

[Thefeeder]

Newbie Question. Please forgive me...

But what are the benefits of an Over and Under shotgun for skeet, etc? Why an Over/Under vs. say, a single barrel semi-auto? Or is it simply a preference/style thing? Always did love the way Over/Unders look and some are really works of art. Have yet to shoot one though.

Reality....you shoot better if you feel your a better shooter.

The best shotgun is the one YOU feel comfortable with shooting.

Confidence is a big plus in all sports because it lets your subconscious take over.

[FLIGHT762]

Because they look sexy AF!

And because they are classy and traditional. Skeet is like good all about being proper and classy sport.

This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This! Having two separate firing systems allows for two separate chokes for shot 1 and shot 2. Also, should you have a problem with one, you might still be able to shoot the other. It is very easy to verify the barrels are clear of obstructions--great when shooting unreliable reloads. Finally, you can buy a combo set that provides a single barrel for things like singles trap, and handicap trap as well as a set of double barrels for shooting doubles.

And this^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I just got a new Browning 725 30" Sporting version out of jail last Tuesday. I went out on Wednesday and shot 4 rounds of Skeet, although I bought it more for Sporting Clays. It was sweet shooting even with the 30" barrels. Finally decided to buy something nice.

I'm going to break it in during Dove season in a couple of weeks.

[AAShooter]

Wouldn't they both be skeet chkokes?

Depends on shooter preference.

[AAShooter]

. . . Sounded bogus to me, but when I was shopping the guy that introduced me to clay shooting insisted that I get an o/u, he said that some follow up shots would be impossible with a semi because of the time necessary to cycle the second round. . .

Bogus is a very nice way to describe this bit of advice . . .

[ysr_racer]

If we're talking competition skeet, two chokes would be the number one reason.

Wouldn't they both be skeet chkokes?

[AAShooter]

Why an O/U?
1. Weight (mine is almost 10lbs which promotes a nice smooth swing)
2. Reliability (I should be good for 500,000+ rounds)
3. Ability to use subgauge tubes since American skeet tournaments are shot in 12, 20, 28, & 410.

Also, if you reload, you don't have to look all over for your empty hulls. If you're only shooting one gauge and if the O/U weighs under 7 lbs, you're better off using a gas operated semi-auto to soak up some recoil.

By the way, some of the worlds best American skeet shooters shoot semi-auto's in 12 gauge and double events.

This! Having two separate firing systems allows for two separate chokes for shot 1 and shot 2. Also, should you have a problem with one, you might still be able to shoot the other. It is very easy to verify the barrels are clear of obstructions--great when shooting unreliable reloads. Finally, you can buy a combo set that provides a single barrel for things like singles trap, and handicap trap as well as a set of double barrels for shooting doubles.

[Chubs T]

Why an O/U?
1. Weight (mine is almost 10lbs which promotes a nice smooth swing)
2. Reliability (I should be good for 500,000+ rounds)
3. Ability to use subgauge tubes since American skeet tournaments are shot in 12, 20, 28, & 410.

Also, if you reload, you don't have to look all over for your empty hulls. If you're only shooting one gauge and if the O/U weighs under 7 lbs, you're better off using a gas operated semi-auto to soak up some recoil.

By the way, some of the worlds best American skeet shooters shoot semi-auto's in 12 gauge and double events.

[mcmikeblues7]

I actually JUST asked this question to a real prodigy of a trap shooter at the chabot gun club. This guy is only 16 and REALLY knows his stuff, in fact he was the range master at the time.
He said that some say it is for reliability, but he though others were just as reliable. Some say it is for looks, but there's more to it than that. It is really all about the balance. When you are shooting in a very competitive setting and one missed round that you could have gotten might mean the difference between winning and losing.

[Harrison_Bergeron]

Sounded bogus to me, but when I was shopping the guy that introduced me to clay shooting insisted that I get an o/u, he said that some follow up shots would be impossible with a semi because of the time necessary to cycle the second round.

I bought a Beretta 3901.

The best reason to buy a semi is that a good semi costs a hell of a lot less than a good o/u.