The beast from the east: a Tula MC6-03 OU shotgun …

RARE 12g TULA 12g MC6-03OVER UNDER  SKEET/TRAP, TWO-BARREL SET, CUSTOM CASE
RARE 12g TULA 12g MC6-03OVER UNDER  SKEET/TRAP, TWO-BARREL SET, CUSTOM CASE

Back during the Cold War, America fought with the Soviet Union about most things, including about who could win the most medals at the Olympics Games.

As part of USSR’s attempt to beat at trap and skeet shooting, the country developed several shotguns for Soviet shooters. The most successful design was a plainer version of the OU you see here. With that gun, the Soviet shooters crushed other shooters at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games and piled on more medals in subsequent competitions through the 1970s.

RARE 12g TULA 12g MC6-03OVER UNDER  SKEET/TRAP, TWO-BARREL SET, CUSTOM CASE
RARE 12g TULA 12g MC6-03OVER UNDER  SKEET/TRAP, TWO-BARREL SET, CUSTOM CASE

Mechanically, the OU pictured here is the same gun those Soviet shooters used. I’ve shot one just like it many times, and I can tell you it’s a fantastic target gun. While it’s heavy (like a target gun should be), it handles well and is a pleasure to shoot. It smashes clays, too.

RARE 12g TULA 12g MC6-03 OVER UNDER  SKEET/TRAP, TWO-BARREL SET, CUSTOM CASE: EXTREMELY RARE ON CURRENT MARKET CASED RUSSIAN(USSR) TULA (NOT BAIKAL) MC6-03 TWO SET OF BARRELS CUSTOM SHOTGUN FROM 1978. BARRELS 28.5″ (FULL/IMP MOD) 26″ TULA RETRO CHOKES(SKEET/SKEET). Price: $3500

The first step to shooting a shotgun well…

Smooth and Consistent Shotgun Mount Video
Smooth and Consistent Shotgun Mount Video

Being an American, I grew up thinking there were some things I just knew how to do: skip a rock across a pond, spit, shoot a shotgun.

Of course, I wasn’t born knowing how to do any of these things. And when it came to shotguns, it took me a while to realize I didn’t know the first thing about shooting them.

Even though this video is called Smooth and Consistent Shotgun Mount – Sporting Clays Tip it’s really about picking up targets and getting in front of them, and breaking more clays (or dropping more birds). It takes a bit to get going, but the animation in the middle is worth checking out.

Shotgun impacts in slow motion, from The Slow Mo Guys

Ever wonder what a cloud of shot looks like in the air? Or how recoild impacts your gun and you body? Check out this video to learn more about both. A few things that caught my eye:
-The way the shot cloud leaves the cup
-The way the recoil rolls through the shooters body
-At :56 and 1:35, how the toplever on the shotgun moves with each shot. That can’t be good for the gun.

Are you getting it wrong? Five myths and misconceptions about shooting…

Orvis Shooting School, Millbrook, NY. A great place to become a better shot.
Orvis Shooting School, Millbrook, NY. A great place to become a better shot.

There are lot of superstitions, fairy tales and just plain non-sense in the world of shotgun shooting. If you spend any time on a skeet field or a clays course, you’ll heard plenty of it.

Writer Laurie Hart has heard plenty of it, too. In the piece excerpted below, she calls a few of them out. Click through and read the entire piece for her explanation of why each myth and misconception is pure BS.

Five Myths and Misconceptions About Shooting, by Laurie Hart, from the UK’s FieldSports magazine.

1: The tighter the choke the longer the shot string.

2: A longer shot string makes it easier to hit the target.

3: The more open the choke the bigger the pattern.

4: Shooting across and into water enables you to see the shot string.

5: Swinging very rapidly can spread the shot across the sky.

In her article, Laurie explains each of these myths and misconceptions in greater detail, and I suggest you check the whole thing out now.

Auction Alert: 20g Winchester M21, Parker DHE & Beretta 686 DU…

Gunrunner.com Online Firearms Auctions
Gunrunner.com Online Firearms Auctions

Gunrunner online firearms auctions these nice doubles in their December online auction. These lots are ending over the next few days, starting tomorrow.

 

Winchester Model 21 Skeet, 20 ga. side by side, 26″, mfg. 1937

Winchester M21 20 gauge Skeet gun
Winchester M21 20 gauge Skeet gun

Kolar Skeet Set, 12, 20, 28, .410 ga over/under shotgun, Engraved, Tubes, Case

Browning Superposed Diana Grade, 12 ga. O/U shotgun, 30″ Broadway, mfg. 1970

Parker/Winchester DHE Grade, 28 ga. side by side shotgun, 26″, Leather case, Unfired

Beretta White Onyx 686 DU, 20 ga. over/under shotgun, 28″, NIB

Kimber Augusta “S-I Sporting”, 12 ga. over/under shotgun, 30″, Hard Case

Krieghoff K-80 Skeet, 12, 20, 28, .410 ga. over/under shotgun, 2 barrels, Kolar Tubes, 10 chokes, Hard Case

Ithaca Model 100, 20 ga. side by side shotgun, 25″, IC/M

Parker/Winchester 20 gauge DHE double barrel shotgun, 26", straight grip
Parker/Winchester 20 gauge DHE double barrel shotgun, 26″, straight grip