Ok, some of you have forgotten more about shotguns than I will ever know! I have googled this but I am still confused. Say I want a shotgun that is good on a swing for a fast moving bird like in a cornfield or over prairie grasses. What am I looking for in terms of balance?

Thanks

You'll want to look for a gun that is balanced more towards the rear, back near the receiver or wrist. Guns such as benellis, franchis and some of the new browning fusions and ultralight weight guns are balanced this way.

Guns such as 1100s, 1187s are balanced more towards the fore-end. This allows shooters the feel of being able to keep the gun moving. Its more like a baseball bat or a golf club, weighted at the end to promote gun movement. However they are not as quick to the target.

Personal preferences the whole lot of it.

In addition to a more stock heavy balance point. Other attributes like a shorter barrel, shorter overall gun length, lighter weight, and a thinner forearm also make a gun point quicker.

I shot competitively for a number of years in trap skeet and sporting clays. I always preferred the weight of the gun to be between my hands. I didn't like it to be tooheavy on the front or on the back....