Edelweiss thanks for the tip. My Pedersoli 12ga side by side also has a wedge looser than all other guns I have. Not so loose to fall out, but if one squeezes the stock right you can remove it without taping (simply pushing with a coin for example).

Also regarding Pedersoli fit and finish. The trigger guard didn't seem sharp to me when I touched it, but it sliced my trigger finger once (only a mm deep - still that's no good!). I highly recommend inspecting your trigger guards for sharp corners and addressing them.

Regarding barrels fit. The kodiak arrived with factory fitted. 58 cal barrels. Those seem pretty tight. No amount of squeezing the stock seems to loosen the wedge. It has to be tapped out every time.

50.cal barrels were bought as new spare and came with an undersized wedge slot. I had to open it up slightly with a needle file for them to fit. The wedge is tight there also.

Regarding barrels to wood fit it seems to be pretty good, but one doesn't know until one checks with soot etc. I may have to do this at some point.

Having more consistent results with all my single barrel guns (and the longer 50 cal double set). I decided to inspect the. 58 cal barrels better. I used the boresight during a night when there was a bit of fog outside so I could see the beam. I read it online it is typical for double barrels to be aligned down and to opposite direction. In this set of barrels the left is very slightly pointing right so it seems to be almost at the point of aim even at a distance of 100m. The right however points much more to the left. I estimate 5~8 inches at 50m.

So far I have always been shooting right first then left. Perhaps it was meant to shoot left first. Then when the set is warm to shoot the right? I have to try that next time I'm at the range.