Beau Ouiville

I hunt pheasant with an O/U and shoot the top tube first. Some say to use the bottom first for reduced recoil. What do most folks do?

coloradoprohunter

uhhh.... idk i shoot pump. waaay better. no offense dude. screw the recoil dude. if ur looking at a bird u wont feel it. and its not worth missing or wounding a bird just because of recoil problems

GSPsnFORDs

I know a lot of trap shooters that shoot O/U's. They shoot bottom barrel first and claim it reduces recoil. I think it comes down to personal preference. I shoot trap from the top barrel and when I'm hunting I shoot bottom barrel first.

scottr

Lower first w/ IC choke then upper w/ Mod choke in the field. At the range I may switch depending on the order ofthe clays. I think if the recoil theory has a truth (which I don't) the average shooter would not be able to tell.


If you are worried about recoil these things are more likley to make a noticble difference:

- Proper gun fit
- A firm gun mount
- Lighter loads (try to find the lightest load w/out sacrificing killing power) If you load your own play around with powder amount or shoot lots of different brands.
- Recoil pad either on your gun or shoulder (shirt, vest etc)

Some off these are easier to play with than others. You may not to do much about a gun that doesn't fit you well with spending some money.

Leeboy 02

in theory firing the bottom barrel first should make it easier to aquire the second target as firing the the bottom barrel should make less barrel flip.

Leeboy

Pokey

Buy a SXS he he Why would shooting the bottom barrel first reduce recoil?

gselkhunter

The reason for shooting the bottom barrel first has nothing to do with recoil. Barrel lift is the issue, by shooting the top barrel first the barrels pick up forcing you to bring the gun down to make the second shot. Shooting the under barrel keeps the gun on line with the target.
Gselkhunter

Granby

Exactly. There's nothing like a sweet o/u.