Pointing Without a Rib

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Been really enjoying the idea of getting a beater single shot shotgun for when I'm scouting new hunting spots and want to have something for opportunities that present themselves. Problem is all the ones I see that aren't performance trap guns don't have a vent rip and for the life of me I can't aim worth a crap without a rib. Any suggestions on aiming better without a rib or beater single shots that do have a rib I should look out for?
 
I'm not thinking of any poboy single barrels with a rib.
Plenty of good options without a rib.h&r. Savage94.....and everybody raves about the little Midland backpacker.

I think I would work on my pointing skills.
You know the old shotgunners trick of repeatedly shouldering your gun and pointing at the lamp. Repeat until you are doing it with your eyes closed. Then open your eyes and see if you're centered on the lamp.

I think you can buy a fiber optic from sight that snaps over a ribless 12ga barrel. Fyi. That might help too.
Best wishes.
I enjoy my single barrels.
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You just need more practice. A buddy of mine used to have almost a fetish for those NEF single shot shotguns when they were like $80-90, at one point he had like 8 of them. We used to shoot clays together all the time, he with a Browning Gold and me with an 870 but one day we decided to just use his single shots. Honestly, we were probably still 95% as accurate as with our normal shotguns.
 
One of my regrets is switching to ribbed shotguns. I was trained in the army to shoot by eyesight alone. That and using a wide variety of guns. Good luck.
 
Army had a program called "quick kill" using bb guns with no sights to hit targets thrown up in the air. Support hand pointer finger was emphasized. Daisy marketed it to civilian market as "quick skill".
 
Okay. That sounds like some drills I used to do for paintball. Now that I think about it how can I shoot a paintball gun with quick accuracy but struggle with my H&R 410. Maybe it is simply too small a guage for my skill level right now.
 
90% of shotgunning is having the gun fit you decently so it shoots where you are looking. You point a shotgun looking over the barrel with the bead as a reference. The pattern is going to go where you are looking/pointing. Ideally you want both eyes open when shooting shotguns at moving targets for the computer behind your eyes to make the correct decisions on how much lead, how fast, which direction. Lots of practice, patterning board, maybe some padding on the stock or cheek to get you where you want to be.

If you are aiming the shotgun, you are treating it more like a rifle, which is fine if you are shooting slugs, but it is a SHOTgun first and foremost. Best thing is to get out a pattern paper or board and see where you are shooting, just pullup and point it at a dot on center, don't try to aim it and adjust, point and shoot.
 
Army had a program called "quick kill" using bb guns with no sights to hit targets thrown up in the air. Support hand pointer finger was emphasized. Daisy marketed it to civilian market as "quick skill".
USMC did this too in 71.
 
Have you seen the way mossberg uses two beads? You could add a larger front and a mid bead. Just pop it on a decent single shot. I don’t see anything wrong with Rossi or older savage, nef any of those but I’m a lover of old singles.
 
Have you seen the way mossberg uses two beads? You could add a larger front and a mid bead. Just pop it on a decent single shot. I don’t see anything wrong with Rossi or older savage, nef any of those but I’m a lover of old singles.
So the Mossberg is what I'm having trouble transitioning away from. Never considered adding a mid head. Will look into that.
 
Army had a program called "quick kill" using bb guns with no sights to hit targets thrown up in the air. Support hand pointer finger was emphasized. Daisy marketed it to civilian market as "quick skill".
Yes, this is what I was referring to. I also taught that technique as a civilian instructor. I still have a daisy BB gun without sights. It takes practice and you have to know which eye is dominant.
 
Can you elaborate on this? Is there anything from your army days that seemed especially helpful?
Eyesight alone.
The Churchill method.
Having a rib or not should make no difference. Having two beads or one should make no difference.
The key to hitting with any shotgun (and you all know this) is gun fit. If the shotgun fits you and you have properly mounted it, it will shoot where you are looking. This is where the adage “you don’t aim a shotgun, you point it” comes from. (Thank you, Kudu)
If you are looking at the rib, or the bead, you are not looking at the target.
At the Trap range, I mount the gun. I check the two beads...if they are making a figure 8, then the gun is ready to shoot. From that point on, i do not look at them. I keep my head on the stock. I call for the bird and I look at it as the gun swings.
I have a BB gun with the sights filed off. I added weights at various places to maintain balance and bring the gun a bit closer to the weight of a field gun. I removed the stock and cut one from a piece of scrap pine that was long enough to accommodaite my LOP. It is a good training tool. Goes with me on woods walks and sits near during yardwork,
 
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I shot a 28" Rem 1100 12 ga without a rib for years. I think my best day was 18 doves (limit at the time) with 23 shells.

However, I will admit a receiver helps a lot without a rib.
 
Yes as Pete said learning to mount the gun properly and having the correct cheek weld is essential. The better the gun fits the better you will shoot.
 
So took the single shot out yesterday and hit the pattern board. Shot about 10 shots, half slow aimed fire and half quick snap shots. Did not measure the distance exactly but stepped out what looked to be average distance I take shots at rabbits (one popped up just beforehand so I had a fresh reminder). Turns out I snap shoot the gun almost as well as aimed fire. 410 is just too light a load that even out of a full choke the pattern is very sparse at usable distance for me. Thanks for all the advice but this time it really is a gear issue and not a training one. Guess the question now is what guage is too heavy recoil wise for a light single shot, thinking 20 or 16.
 
Been really enjoying the idea of getting a beater single shot shotgun for when I'm scouting new hunting spots and want to have something for opportunities that present themselves. Problem is all the ones I see that aren't performance trap guns don't have a vent rip and for the life of me I can't aim worth a crap without a rib. Any suggestions on aiming better without a rib or beater single shots that do have a rib I should look out for?
First things first - STOP AIMING
Second thing is to hit the pattern board to see where this guns shoots in relation to where you are looking; most likely, your stock doesn't fit you. This isn't relegated to cheap shotguns; it is all about fit.
 
I'm a believer in the 20 gauge. It's all I've hunted with for 50 years. Recently picked up 3 more including a Stevens 67 and Stevens 311D sxs. For me the 20 works and have no desire for anything more. Had a .410 single shot once but it didn't get used.
The 16 with low base shells might work for you also but have never shot one.
 
I'm a believer in the 20 gauge. It's all I've hunted with for 50 years. Recently picked up 3 more including a Stevens 67 and Stevens 311D sxs. For me the 20 works and have no desire for anything more. Had a .410 single shot once but it didn't get used.
The 16 with low base shells might work for you also but have never shot one.
My question on guage was half rhetorical but thanks for the insight. What do you normally hunt with the 20? Was browsing my local Cabela's and what they had on the rack wasn't great. For what I want out of this gun weight is high and for the same wieght or just slightly more I could get a double with a safety and firing mechanism I find more natural (tang safety), twice the capacity, removable chokes, and better build quality. Of course with all that comes a 500% or more increase in cost.
 
I realized that when go to the range and shoot my 870 with rib then shoot some old model 11's I have I'm not even aware of the rib or lack thereof.
 
A ribbed barrel may be better but not necessary for good pointing. My best shotgun is a 50 year old but beautifully kept Rem 870 w/28" modified barrel that is not ribbed. Ive shot doves, geese, ducks, quail, woodcock & rabbits with it & never felt that a ribbed barrel would make it any better. I shoot trap with it now & I keep up with most other trap shooters at my range just fine. Ive thought of buying a ribbed trap barrel for it but I really don't need it.
 
Have you seen the way mossberg uses two beads? You could add a larger front and a mid bead. Just pop it on a decent single shot. I don’t see anything wrong with Rossi or older savage, nef any of those but I’m a lover of old singles.
I have never seen a mid-bead not on a rib. The main reason ribbed shotgun barrels came about is to dissapate heat from extended shooting sessions, originally live pigeon shooting, but also clays games. This reduces the 'mirage' shimmer effect when shooting long contests, such as a 200 bird event, plus shoot-offs.
There is a reason for the mid-bead, but it usually sets off flame wars when mentioned, so I'll leave that be.
 
There is a reason for the mid-bead, but it usually sets off flame wars when mentioned, so I'll leave that be.
Eh - where's the fun in that? :)

I always assumed that a mid-bead was a static alignment aid to check fit - once the gun was properly fit, the midbead was effectively unnecessary.
 
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