Practicality of the shotgun..

Around the house a shotgun pattern doesn't open up as much as you think and the primary advantage is effectiveness if you hit your target and somewhat reduce penetration. If you have to maneuver around doorways it is nicer to have a shorter barrel. The professionals who work indoors like something shorter like an MP5 submachine gun. I prefer a high capacity auto pistol due to legal limitations.
 
Jeff Clark said:
Around the house a shotgun pattern doesn't open up as much as you think and the primary advantage is effectiveness if you hit your target and somewhat reduce penetration. If you have to maneuver around doorways it is nicer to have a shorter barrel. The professionals who work indoors like something shorter like an MP5 submachine gun. I prefer a high capacity auto pistol due to legal limitations.
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Ironically, I just ordered an 18" barrel for my 870 for this exact reason. Unfortunately, my wife is adamant about not having handguns in the house, though I'm still pressing the issue. That caused me to start thinking about intruders having 26" of shotgun barrel to try and grab on to during a home invasion. Although not perfect, they'll now have ~8" less chance of doing so. I've heard you can (legally) saw a barrel as short as you'd like as long as you don't intend to resale it; however, I've not seen any actual substantiation of this assertion.
 
From a practical standpoint, I don't think you can find a better all around gun. Most of the benefits have already been addressed.

There is one instance that I have and will continue to chose a 12 gauge pump over a rifle for deer hunting, and that is on driven hunts. I like the idea of open iron sights and the ability for fast target acquisition and quicker follow up. Also when participating on driven hunts a lot of the jumped game is in some thick cover.

Overall, I don't see a more versatile gun. I have autos and double guns, but if the chips were down I would grab my Remington 870 every time.
 
A man needs four guns as far as I can tell: A 12 gauge, a .22, a hunting rifle (270, 30/06, 30-30, etc...) and a pistol.

Everything else is filling in the lines.
 
moonwilson said:
We call those things "poke sticks" where I come from. :D Those are what the poor kids all hunt with. :p
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You can't say it's not a good value though. All those thousands of poor kids can't all be wrong. :D And I love mine.

Jeff
 
I have an old Winchester 12 ga. "poke stick" with a missing front bead that is useful for training those new shooters who have trouble swinging a shotgun through moving targets because they focus on the front bead and try to use it like a rifle sight. This old Winchester helps some folks learn to point and swing rather than trying to aim like a rifle.

A single shot is also nice for training smaller shooters who don't perform well with a heavier shotgun. You just need light loads and a decent recoil pad.

DancesWithKnives
 
JC in SC said:
...I've heard you can (legally) saw a barrel as short as you'd like as long as you don't intend to resale it; however, I've not seen any actual substantiation of this assertion.
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I'm afraid that your source is mistaken. Federal law says minimum length for a shotgun barrel is 18". It's measured on a closed chamber, with a tape stuck down from the muzzle.

Any shotgun barrel shorter than 18" needs a tax stamp and a fair amount of paperwork, or you end up with a trip to Club Fed. I cut mine down to 18.5", just to be sure.
 
My Mossberg 500 12 ga. came with a hunting barrel and a 18 1/2" barrel, a normal stock and a pistol grip. It was called a home security combination or something like that when I bought it 25 years ago.

I'd grab it for security purposes.

My "wilderness survival" gun is a Savage 24 combination gun with .22lr over 20ga. I can't think of a more practical wilderness survival gun. The .22lr is good for small game and the 20ga. can be used with slugs, bird shot, and everything in between. I love that gun!

My $.02 worth.
 
DutchV said:
I'm afraid that your source is mistaken. Federal law says minimum length for a shotgun barrel is 18". It's measured on a closed chamber, with a tape stuck down from the muzzle.

Any shotgun barrel shorter than 18" needs a tax stamp and a fair amount of paperwork, or you end up with a trip to Club Fed. I cut mine down to 18.5", just to be sure.
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Yeah, that is what I thought. Anyone actually done the paperwork exercise? Here in SC it might not be too bad.
 
jds1 said:
You can't say it's not a good value though. All those thousands of poor kids can't all be wrong. :D And I love mine.

Jeff
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I'm just playing. Many, many a critter has fallen to a kid with a "poke stick". I doubt many would argue their effectiveness. Lots of my buddies growing up had them. I just loved being a card-carrying member of the hillbilly bourgeoisie- my gun had TWO barrels. :D Quite the status symbol in my little section of the woods back in the day. They had the reputation of being a "fancy gun"- and were more prized than even the rare pump guns some guys had.
 
I picked up a Mossberg 500 w/Breacher barrel ,adjustable stock ,side saddle shell holder and the whole gun is parkerized. I really enjoy shooting it ,just for toying around I have been running 2 3/4" #6 shot thru her . 100 rounds at wal-mart for $21 bucks. I have some Remington 000 & 00 buckshot and a few slugs.
Great Thread & a Great Gun !
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early pics of when I 1st picked her up from the gun shop !
 
moonwilson said:
I'm just playing. Many, many a critter has fallen to a kid with a "poke stick". I doubt many would argue their effectiveness. Lots of my buddies growing up had them. I just loved being a card-carrying member of the hillbilly bourgeoisie- my gun had TWO barrels. :D Quite the status symbol in my little section of the woods back in the day. They had the reputation of being a "fancy gun"- and were more prized than even the rare pump guns some guys had.
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KEmSAT-Survival said:
insulting much?
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He was just messing KEmSAT. He meant nothing by it.

I have an Remington 11-87 for deer and turkey here in MD (since my county doesnt allow rifles), a Winchester 1300 as my field gun and a Harrington Richards 20gauge was my first slug gun for deer. That H&R was heavy as a mother but darn can it shoot.....I put slug on slug at 100 yards, wouldnt go much further but out to there its as accurate as it could probably get.

Love my shotguns.

TexasTony: I really like the setup you got there. I am thinking of buying a mossburg and tricking it out (mostly cuz I dont have a mossburg or a tac shotgun). Hows the action on yours? I have heard Mossy's arent as smooth as 870s.
 
I never fired a 870 I went from owning a Winchester 1300 Defender to the 500...I prefer the 500, I feel in my limited experience with the pump actions that my 500 mossy is pretty smooth with out hiccups.... I'd buy another Mossberg 500 Series in a heartbeat
Some people do not like the AFT stock on my mossy 500. I really like it,I can adjust it for my self to shoot adjust it to fit the wife and few more clicks fit my 12 yo son. now your angle is off a few degrees but that is where practice comes in.
 
If any of you shotgunners are looking for some substantial slugs and heavy "buckshot" loads, check out www.dixieslugs.com. I have been impressed with their Tusker slug for smoothbores and their Tri-Ball multi-projectile load. Haven't tried the Terminator slug for rifled barrels but I've read good reports on some of the shotgun websites.

DancesWithKnives
 
Ive shot that same mossy as tonys. Great shottys. For the $ vs. accessorys you get with them, its a great deal.

870 is a bit smoother in the action, and has a steel reciever as opposed to the alumnum alloy of the mossy. It doesnt matter though. They are dead reliable, great guns. Just preferance, and safety locations differ.
 
JC in SC said:
Yeah, that is what I thought. Anyone actually done the paperwork exercise? Here in SC it might not be too bad.
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Federal paperwork involves a couple of forms, two fingerprint cards, two passport sized photos, a Federal background check and a letter from your chief law enforcement officer saying it's okay for you to own the particular item. It's the same rules for suppressors, full-auto, and short-barreled rifles and shotguns. Oh yeah, and a fee of $200.

It's the letter from your Chief LEO that can be hard to get. In Maryland, it's the State Police, and they approve you if you have a clean background. I've heard that in other places, it's up to the discretion of the sheriff, which can be more political.

It only took a few months total for me to get my suppressor paperwork approved.
 
I've got a mossberg 835 ulti mag, I use it for turkeys mostly. A few months ago on the outdoor channel they were showing penetration shots inside the house with a pistol ( .45 acp & 9mm), an AR15, and a shotgun...To beat it all they said that the shotgun with bird shot was the best because it didn't over penetrate so you wouldn't have to worry about stray bullets penetrating other walls and striking your loved one's. Plus I think it's ingrained in everybody that they know how to manipulate a shotgun....just my thoughts......I'm a big fan of it.......
 
barrabas74 said:
He was just messing KEmSAT. He meant nothing by it.
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I saw the post where he said he was just fooling around after I'd already posted that...
ashamed0006.gif
SORRY MOON!!

I took a little offense to it since I was a "poor kid" who hunted with guns like that. (guns a little worse than that, actually. I had a .22 rifle that was a single shot, bolt action that you had to manually load everytime. Scratched all to hell...but it was accurate and fired everytime and that's all that matters to me! I'm rather fond of saying: "she might be ugly, but she knows how to [expletive for "have intercourse"]")

No foul, though, I realize he was only kidding. If anybody made an error in judgement it was me.

(my childhood is kind of a sore spot for me!)
 
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