Letters containing questions for answering by Nick Harvey must be accompanied by a stamped self-addressed envelope. Mail your letters to: The Technical Editor, 3 Reef Street, Hill End, NSW 2850.
LETTER OF THE MONTH
Over-under patterns don’t meet
Q Someone told me that with an over-under shotgun there is a point at which the two shot patterns meet, which is from 40 yards to infinity. If there is a converging point, would the pattern from the lower barrel of my over-under cross this point and actually pass in front of my target at long range? And would the upper barrel be shooting behind an incoming bird as it passes overhead?
I’ve also been told that the lower barrel of an over-under should be fired first because it is more accurate. Is this true?
— Morris Sims
A Most over-under and side-by-side shotguns have barrels with bores that are more or less parallel. There are some exceptions to this rule, and even parallel barrels may not shoot to the same point of aim. However, the barrels are as likely to diverge as converge and may not cross at all. There is no ‘correct’ point of convergence as far as double-barrelled shotguns are concerned.
The lower barrel of an over-under shotgun is usually fired first because the recoil it generates moves it approximately along the centreline of the gun, directly back toward the shooter’s shoulder. The upper barrel is slightly offset from the centreline, and its recoil causes a more pronounced pivoting action, throwing the barrels upward. Simply put, you can
