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Versatility: Single Vs Double Barrels

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I've been looking for a decent double flinter original for years, I can find plenty of caplocks at fair prices but flint man they get pricey.
If you are interested Access Heritage has a good one that you only have to drill touch hole. Only 700.00
 
Have two original combination rifle/shotguns - both over/under with rifle sights. If course, the rifle sights are for the rifle barrel, so it's not the same as two smoothbores. That said, just as mentioned earlier, regulating two barrels to shoot in the same place at varying distances is, from my research, difficult.

One of mine is a .54/12 gauge which I tried with modern 12 gauge slugs on a whim. Even at 25 yards, they weren't even close. At 50 yards, I might as well have been throwing rocks with the 12 gauge barrel. Patched round ball may have done better, don't know. Didn't have any.
Regulating is for double rifles. And regulating two rifle barrels can only be done for one, specific distance. It is the shooter's task to learn where the points of impact will be at other distances.

Sights on the Cape gun or drilling do not mean that the shotgun barrel is to be aimed. Even if the smooth barrel is soldered to a rifle it remains a shotgun, which is a gun pointed rather than aimed.
 
I strongly disliked my 12 ga. SXS (actually a 14 ga.) The chokes made loading wads near impossible and after they got past the choke were very loose in the bore allowing blow-by and lousy performance. Plus, when one barrel was fired the load from the other barrel jumped up off the breech and had to be reseated. I don't like loading over a hot barrel and if the reseating was forgotten you had a potential bomb in front of yer face. I know jillions of SxS shotguns were imported and sold but, for me, one of the happiest days of my shooting life was when I sold that gun.
There are gunsmiths that still can "jug choke" cylinder bore shotguns I suppose. Done correctly jug choking will tighten patterns considerably, and there is no trouble loading wads and otherwise.
 
Double barreled rifles is one of my outdoor passions, for the simple reason that two immediate shots without breaking the cheek-stock weld is the best way to hunt deer in their beds. Black powder muzzleloader, bp cartridge, modern etc are all quite fabulous. Highly recommend it
 
Regulating is for double rifles. And regulating two rifle barrels can only be done for one, specific distance. It is the shooter's task to learn where the points of impact will be at other distances.

Sights on the Cape gun or drilling do not mean that the shotgun barrel is to be aimed. Even if the smooth barrel is soldered to a rifle it remains a shotgun, which is a gun pointed rather than aimed.
Solanco, This is a .45 X .45 double rifle I made and regulated to shoot one barrel on at 50 yard's and one on at 100 yard's. I worked out pretty well. But, I wouldn't do it again!🥴
IMG_0658.jpeg

Robby
 
Ah but how much versatility can you afford?
Which is I think the reason why it wasn't done as much until the Industrial Revolution kicked in and dropped the price of SxS guns.
It's pretty easy, if you trust the barrel, to drop a ball down onto your shot load, and shoot at a deer. Not recommended but will work. 😶

So yes, especially with a cylinder bore SxS, you can load the most accurate barrel with a round ball and the other barrel with shot.., or with two round ball IF you're in bear country.

HERE's the ultimate versatile SxS....

View attachment 182648

Paints-His-Shirt-Red from the movie Jeremiah Johnson, with a smoothbore x rifle combo!

LD
I can’t believe I’ve never noticed this before!
 
Yep done it and it works.
I’m certain I’ve seen you speak on this before, but refresh my memory…

How has jug choking affected accuracy with round ball loads (and what was your loading process)? When you did your shot loads, were they SkyChief, homemade shot cups, etc? I’m getting my 24 gauge barrel sent off to be jug choked tomorrow
 
Is there a reasonable modification that could be made to overcome the double bbl regulation at different distances issue?

For example, could one silver solder a bead atop the muzzle of the round ball barrel, and tap the stock or tang (whevever alignment indicated) towards the breech, thus creating a rifle sight for that barrel? Then the center bead (if it was effective enough originally) could still be used for the shot barrel, or for both if both loaded with shot.

It might prove an unreasonable modification if the ergonomics of using such a sighting system on one side proved exceptionally difficult to master.
 
I can’t believe I’ve never noticed this before!
I saw the movie when it came out in the 1970's.... a bunch of times seen it again...,

ONLY spotted the gun about 4 years ago, as I had the movie on DVD and could slow-mo the scene. It's from the first encounter where Johnson is catching a fish or two with his hands in Winter, and looks up to see Paints-His-Shirt-Red, riding a horse, holding the SxS, with a string of about a dozen fresh fish hanging from his saddle.

Later in the movie when Bearclaw- Chris Lapp and Johnson get stopped by Indians in the woods, Paints-His-Shirt-Red talks to Lapp, and Lapp turns to Johnson and says, "You two know each other?" Johnson replies, "I seen him once". Lapp also says, "..., says you're a poor fisherman." Referring to the scene above....

LD
 
I saw the movie when it came out in the 1970's.... a bunch of times seen it again...,

ONLY spotted the gun about 4 years ago, as I had the movie on DVD and could slow-mo the scene. It's from the first encounter where Johnson is catching a fish or two with his hands in Winter, and looks up to see Paints-His-Shirt-Red, riding a horse, holding the SxS, with a string of about a dozen fresh fish hanging from his saddle.

Later in the movie when Bearclaw- Chris Lapp and Johnson get stopped by Indians in the woods, Paints-His-Shirt-Red talks to Lapp, and Lapp turns to Johnson and says, "You two know each other?" Johnson replies, "I seen him once". Lapp also says, "..., says you're a poor fisherman." Referring to the scene above....

LD
I remember the movie quite well. Had you not mentioned the gun, I don’t think I ever would’ve noticed
 
I’m certain I’ve seen you speak on this before, but refresh my memory…

How has jug choking affected accuracy with round ball loads (and what was your loading process)? When you did your shot loads, were they SkyChief, homemade shot cups, etc? I’m getting my 24 gauge barrel sent off to be jug choked tomorrow
I'd love to tell you more but for vague legal reasons and hovering hawk I won't indulge.
I will say that I never tried a single ball past a jug or recessed choke but have read of many doing it successfully.
I have used the skychief load but don't really use it. Thin cards are all I carry and use or sometimes a ball of paper as wadding.
In all honesty I don't over think it, I just go shooting. The only thing I tend to stick to is less powder to shot and probably a finer grade than most would dream of.
👍🏻
 

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