Beretta Silver Pigeons shooting weird...

[Parke1]

Hey all,

My boss has a pair of absolutely beautiful Beretta Silver Pigeons, one in 12 and one in 20. He's had them for quite a while, and mainly just used them for trap guns, during which he'd only use the top barrels. Tonight at work he came and told me that he was patterning the guns and at 20 yards, the bottom barrels on both guns were hitting at least 3 inches low.

Any ideas on what might be causing this? I am pretty much just an 870 man, so my O/U knowledge is extremely limited. He just suspects "production flaws", but I'd like to think that with a pair of nice Berettas like these, something else could be amiss.

Thanks for any light that can be shed on this mystery!
-Parke1

 

[Dave McCracken]

First, he should have another shooter try them and see if the low hits continue.
If so, there's a few options.

Some O/Us are set up so the bottom barrel shoots a bit high for rising birds and clays. The top barrel is oft closer to 50-50. How doth these pattern? And is he patterning at the range he's taking his birds at?

If he's using them for trap successfully, chances are the top barrels are shooting a bit high.

Raising the comb a tad will help get the bottom barrels on. Bending the stock will also, but that's pricey and chancy.

Even good O/Us like Berettas have congruence probs. It's unlikely both have the same glitch. I'm inclined to think pilot error is the cause.

HTH....

 

[JohnBT]

I'd always wondered about the manufacturer's specs, and then I read the following. John

"Many manufacturers consider up to 8" mis-convergence at 40 yards to be
acceptable and much less than that to be simply good fortune. If at 40
yards your killing pattern is only 24", you don't want to give up 1/3
of that to barrels that shoot to different places. Welcome to the
world of shotgunning! It's not precision riflery."

www.shotgunreport.com/TechTech/TechnoidArchive/26-Jun-03.html

 

[kudu]

I am more inclined to think that the barrels are lined up almost perfectly. When shooting the lower barrel there is less muzzle jump because the lower barrel is more centered straight toward the shooters shoulder. It's in line more with a lower center of gravity.
When shooting the upper barrel it "pivots" up more from recoil. That is why 98% of shooters that shoot O/U's will shoot the bottom barrel first on doubles to keep the muzzle flip down and get on the second shot faster. The pivot point is almost directly behind the lower barrel.

With the small amount of "flip", 3 inches is virtually nothing.