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Being ignorant...
12-11-2016, 09:22 AM,
#1
Being ignorant...
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#1
Why do over and under shotguns exist? What is the purpose? Would not a semi-automatic be a better option? Is it just a variation on a double barrel shotgun?Neutral
"An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." -Col. Jeff Cooper
"An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." -Col. Jeff Cooper
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12-11-2016, 10:54 AM,
#2
RE: Being ignorant...
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#2
They are simple to clean, simple to operate, easier to repair, they look,cool as HECK, some may even want to have different chokes on each tube.

http://firearmshistory.blogspot.com/2011...signs.html

Some nice O/U shotguns: http://www.purdey.com/guns-rifles/over-under-guns/
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12-11-2016, 12:30 PM,
#3
RE: Being ignorant...
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(12-11-2016, 10:54 AM)bradberry Wrote: They are simple to clean, simple to operate, easier to repair, they look,cool as HECK, some may even want to have different chokes on each tube.

http://firearmshistory.blogspot.com/2011...signs.html

Some nice O/U shotguns: http://www.purdey.com/guns-rifles/over-under-guns/

So this is just a shotgun designed to put more pellets in a given area? Just trying to understand the reasons for the double barrel? I can understand side by side shotguns for self defense. But always equated a O/U Shotgun was for hunting. Didn't know they were set so most pellets were at 40 yds...

Just trying to understand why the type was developed...
"An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." -Col. Jeff Cooper
(12-11-2016, 10:54 AM)bradberry Wrote: They are simple to clean, simple to operate, easier to repair, they look,cool as HECK, some may even want to have different chokes on each tube.

http://firearmshistory.blogspot.com/2011...signs.html

Some nice O/U shotguns: http://www.purdey.com/guns-rifles/over-under-guns/
So this is just a shotgun designed to put more pellets in a given area? Just trying to understand the reasons for the double barrel? I can understand side by side shotguns for self defense. But always equated a O/U Shotgun was for hunting. Didn't know they were set so most pellets were at 40 yds...

Just trying to understand why the type was developed...
"An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." -Col. Jeff Cooper
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12-11-2016, 12:48 PM,
#4
RE: Being ignorant...
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I guess that would go back to the 1800's and that maybe it was a thought like "Well what if we did this with the barrels".
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12-11-2016, 01:11 PM,
#5
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This should help some:
All that remains to be considered is the over-and-under. Contrary to the modern idea that stacked barrels are a recent format, some of the earliest double guns were built on the over/under principle. ‘Wender’ over and unders, where the barrels were rotated about a fixed pin, were being made in the middle 1600s and continued to be made in the eighteenth century and during the Napoleonic years in France (the Emperor himself gave a Wender over and under made by Le Page, the famous Parisian gunsmith, to King Frederick Augustus of Saxony in 1808). The great gun historian, W.Keith Neal, had an English, over and under gun of this type of about 1660 and a fixed barrel Dutch over and under duck gun of about 1680 in his extensive collection. In the Tojhusmuseet in Copenhagen (an extraordinary collection, the scale of which is hard to describe), there are a number of interesting, early, over and unders. These include a gun by Cunet of Lyons dating to 1660 and another, a 33 bore of 1725 made for shooting flying, by Peborde of Paris and in which the barrels are combined by plates.

http://www.positiveshooting.com/Historyo...ngGun.html
All that remains to be considered is the over-and-under. Contrary to the modern idea that stacked barrels are a recent format, some of the earliest double guns were built on the over/under principle. ‘Wender’ over and unders, where the barrels were rotated about a fixed pin, were being made in the middle 1600s and continued to be made in the eighteenth century and during the Napoleonic years in France (the Emperor himself gave a Wender over and under made by Le Page, the famous Parisian gunsmith, to King Frederick Augustus of Saxony in 1808). The great gun historian, W.Keith Neal, had an English, over and under gun of this type of about 1660 and a fixed barrel Dutch over and under duck gun of about 1680 in his extensive collection. In the Tojhusmuseet in Copenhagen (an extraordinary collection, the scale of which is hard to describe), there are a number of interesting, early, over and unders. These include a gun by Cunet of Lyons dating to 1660 and another, a 33 bore of 1725 made for shooting flying, by Peborde of Paris and in which the barrels are combined by plates.

http://www.positiveshooting.com/Historyo...ngGun.html
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12-13-2016, 10:40 AM,
#6
RE: Being ignorant...
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Over/Under shotguns may seem old fashioned and obsolete by today's standards. They still serve some great utilitarian purposes (besides for looking good). Having the ability to have 2 different choke tubes is a great help, in both wing shooting and games like sporting clays, as well as having another size of shot for the other distance. We are often presented we targets at different distances, for instance 7 yards on the first shot and 25 on the next. This really lets you dial in on how game is flushing, or clay games where the targets may be at different distances from the shooter.
There is also somewhat of a "safety" benefit as well. With any hinge action gun (O/U, side-by-side, or single shot), it is easy for other shooters to see that your gun is "safe" simple by having the action broke open. When the action is opened, even if shells are in the chambers the gun is out of battery and cannot fire. With pumps and semi autos, it is difficult to impossible for other shooters to tell if your gun is "safe" and not loaded.
O/U's are certainly not obsolete, just another good tool for certain applications, not to mention a good excuse to purchase another gun!
There is also somewhat of a "safety" benefit as well. With any hinge action gun (O/U, side-by-side, or single shot), it is easy for other shooters to see that your gun is "safe" simple by having the action broke open. When the action is opened, even if shells are in the chambers the gun is out of battery and cannot fire. With pumps and semi autos, it is difficult to impossible for other shooters to tell if your gun is "safe" and not loaded.
O/U's are certainly not obsolete, just another good tool for certain applications, not to mention a good excuse to purchase another gun!
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12-14-2016, 08:44 PM,
#7
RE: Being ignorant...
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Thank you Steve,

That is the first logical explanation of why the two barrels. See you can learn something new everyday. I wonder how often they needed different loads while out hunting. I wonder how much better trained they needed to be to put fowl on the table. Sometimes goose, sometimes pigeon.
"An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." -Col. Jeff Cooper

That is the first logical explanation of why the two barrels. See you can learn something new everyday. I wonder how often they needed different loads while out hunting. I wonder how much better trained they needed to be to put fowl on the table. Sometimes goose, sometimes pigeon.
"An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." -Col. Jeff Cooper
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