Learn something new everyday on ALDeer.

Yes
Myself and two others were obsessed with patterning our SBEs. Literally bought several cases a piece of Nitros each year. We had our guns worked on by angleporting in Arkansas. I had numerous chokes and still do plus the other guys had other chokes so we swapped. David had custom chokes made.

I’d shoot several case of duck and goose loads a year too.

Here it is thru the years, bought new as a synthetic in 93 in Memphis
Waterloo first year it reopened

For wing shooting my new model A5s have served me well. When I got my wicked wing version in bottomland I told the browning rep I’d love to see a 20 gauge version. He said don’t hold your breath.

A shotgun is supposed to shoot to the bead. How the gun fits you determines where that bead points when you mount the gun properly. The problem people are referring to about barrel regulation is that these companies say half a foot off is within their tolerance. They'll say this even if the two barrels never converge. Yet their standard specification references the bead as being what their allowed variation is measured from.

When you confront them they trot out that nonsense about how it won't shoot as intended if it isn't fitted to you. It's two parts of one puzzle.

My SBE would shoot 3ft low and to the right a little if lining up the front sight with the mid bead.

My first A5 shot to the 6 o’clock and my new A5 shoots to the 2/3 bottom1/3 top of the target. That’s lining up the beads. In a figure 8

Careful. You’ve got this large segment of shotgunners that have bought into the ‘fit is all that matters’ for POI indoctrination some of these manufacturers and shills have pushed for the last few decades. There are likely $30k guns with bent barrels and cockeyed choke threading that had even more $ spent on stock work to get the shooter looking the same place the barrel was pointed. You’ll get their dander up if you start in on having a point of aim in a shotgun, much less having that coincide with a point of impact, AND THEN fitting (or learning to RUN) the gun to the point of impact when they shoot. How dare you?

Dang. Shotgun shooting has gotten very complicated. When I was kid in the 1970s and 80s, men would purchase a high gloss Remington 1100 or Ithaca and would take birds, rabbits, and deer with it with NO discussion or complex thought about fit and POI and expensive aftermarket alterations.

….because you learned how to run the gun you had, not the one you didn’t have or couldn’t own. You didn’t know you had to have 4 math equations and a $30k custom rig to hit something moving.

You gonna type that with a straight face having seen how many shells those men go through at a dove shoot? People been twisting stocks as long as there have been shotguns IF they could afford it and knew enough about shotguns to have it done.

Look at this mess:

Yeah. Confusing more $ than sense with practicality and ability, doesn’t make the point some might think.

Definitely some confusion going on.

Looks like it was built for a cross eyed dominate situation

Not sure how we got on anecdotal stuff, but….there are days I’ve seen farmers in overalls and coaches with holes in their boots shoot far less shells for a limit out of old Stevens and Remington pumps, than the ‘professional’ skeet shooters with fitted guns right next to them. I knew a guy that was an amazing skeet shooter, who would borrow someone else’s gun and run a course, too. Heck, my best friend goes wing shooting around the world on high$ shoots with brits and others and has never had a fitted shotgun, yet he can hold his own with anyone….because he’s got great hand-eye coordination, pro golfer days. I’m not saying fit isn’t a good thing or that some folks can take advantage of it where others can’t. I’m just saying it’s often an overrated component in getting shot on target, compared to other stuff. It’s always been far more about the nut behind the trigger than any component in front of it.

On the topic: I’m interested to shoot one of the 20s and see how it feels vs other stuff. The 12s may be ‘inertia’, but they shoot and feel different than Benellis or the Auto 5s, Golds, etc….for sure.

Eye hand coordination is the bottom line

F1 drivers have incredible eye hand coordination and recently a few were taken to a range and given a race pistol to shoot. Performed extremely well right out of the gate.

I used to be a decent shot, then I got glasses

Good grief. Find a gun that fits and you like. Thread over

I believe this is the biggest factor right here. More than any other factor, success with hitting a flying target comes down to eye-hand coordination. Wearing corrective eyeglasses is a hindrance for sure for many folks. I can't focus on a skeet long enough to get a good picture of it; the tiny window of opportunity has passed by the time I'm seeing the target clearly. My young nephews who don't wear glasses have lightning quick vision and hands. They bust clays and hit doves left and right and can't even articulate what technique they use to do it. Their eyes and hands are just in sync.