Practicality of the shotgun..

[the lone gunman]

I love the 12. Top is mossy 500 3" turkey choke, Bottom is my favorite Ithaca 37 with 18" barrel. Ithaca is my go to for squirrel,grouse,Home defense. Had it since 1975 .

 

[j williams]

my dad has that same Ithaca. Great gun.

 

[moonwilson]

I saw the post where he said he was just fooling around after I'd already posted that...

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!)

No worries, we're all friends here. I realized it was kind of a jerk thing to say when I said it- but it was true when I was growing up. All of the kids with poke sticks wanted pumps or doubles. Which is not to say that a poke stick doesn't do its job perfectly well- but it's on the low end of the desirability spectrum for a kid. It's like a kid who has to ride his Dad's busted-up old 10-speed when all of his buddies are riding sweet new mountain bikes. He has to take a hard time from everybody about it. (I was that kid)

I was one of those kids who hunted with a single-shot .22 as well. I still have that thing, it's a good gun. Would I have rather had a 10/22? Yes, I would have. Now that I have a choice- the 10/22 comes out with me, not the old Winchester, except when I'm feeling nostalgic.

 

[KEmSAT-Survival]

No worries, we're all friends here. I realized it was kind of a jerk thing to say when I said it- but it was true when I was growing up. All of the kids with poke sticks wanted pumps or doubles. Which is not to say that a poke stick doesn't do its job perfectly well- but it's on the low end of the desirability spectrum for a kid. It's like a kid who has to ride his Dad's busted-up old 10-speed when all of his buddies are riding sweet new mountain bikes. He has to take a hard time from everybody about it. (I was that kid)

I was one of those kids who hunted with a single-shot .22 as well. I still have that thing, it's a good gun. Would I have rather had a 10/22? Yes, I would have. Now that I have a choice- the 10/22 comes out with me, not the old Winchester, except when I'm feeling nostalgic.

Very true. As kids we always want the bigger, better deal. As adults we think: "Why the hell didn't I just realize what I had. I miss that __________."

I'd love to have that old .22 back.

Then again, there are alot of things I'd like to have back.

Hah! Speaking of Nostalgia:

A friend of mine gave my kid (with my okay, of course) one of those old hollow handled survival knives--you know the kind--it still had the matches and stuff with it.

Dull as a potato.

I sat and played with it all evening. The wife was making fun of me until I told her: "Remember how Pop told you I used to run around in the hills with a knife on my side like I was Rambo?"

"Yes, you've told me that a thousand times."

"Well, this is the exact model of knife I used to carry. He bought it for me."

"I see...so your son having it, is like you having one. You're such a homesick goober..."

She's understanding like that.

 

[koyote]

I'm gonna step right on out and talk about something- the whole 12 gauge thing.

America is a nation of shotguns- we have made them do everything from real combat to large game hunting. small game in any environment, too. King of the backwoodsman's firearms. But most of our history it's been the 20, 16, even smaller gauges that have ruled. (I think it's economics. We've gottne rich and fat and so have our shotguns)

I'd rather - much rather- a 20ga. over a 12 in almost any secnario. Scavenging might be an exception, but I find scavenging to be a limited, very limited scenario.

Hell, if I could get an 870 express in 28 gauge, I'd have to handload a lot, but I'd take that over anything. (and 1400 foot pounds of slug is plenty, guys)

 

[Loosearrow]

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.

I agree, we now have 4 cents. Love my camper savage 24C. I have a pistol grip on one and a straight stocked one. The both have the trap door in the butt plate.

 

[MEatVT]

There are a lot of great things about a shotgun. I think a carbine shines equally brightly, however.

Its a misconception that a shotgun is good for beginners. Heavy recoil makes it less handy. 2" longer barrel (barring NFA) makes it less handy inside. Etc...

 

[koyote]

There are a lot of great things about a shotgun. I think a carbine shines equally brightly, however.

Its a misconception that a shotgun is good for beginners. Heavy recoil makes it less handy. 2" longer barrel (barring NFA) makes it less handy inside. Etc...

I dunno about that. The .410 I was raised with was pretty easy to shoot.

 

[valcas1]

I don't think the 410 gets enough credit Christof.

 

[desmobob]

There are a lot of great things about a shotgun. I think a carbine shines equally brightly, however.

The big drawback to shotguns, especially the 12ga., is that the ammo is so bulky (and heavy). Hard to beat the versatility though. Carbines are great, but it's tricky shooting grouse, pheasants, ducks and geese with them.


I prefer a .223 carbine for the extended range and ability to easily carry lots of ammo. With an EOTech sight on top, it's as quick on target as a scattergun but still useful when the engagement range gets in the hundreds of yards. I have a Colt .22LR conversion kit that turns an AR15 into a small game rifle in seconds. It's a replacement bolt assembly and magazine; a surprisingly compact package. ARs are as fun to accessorize as shotguns!

Speaking of shotgun accessories, I bought one of those Knox SpecOps stocks last year for the Winchester pump gun I use for turkey hunting. It really tames the recoil from the brutal turkey loads. :thumbup:

In another week or so, a 12ga will be my favorite tool. The duck season opens here on the 10th. That's when my Beretta 390 becomes part of my body for a while.

Stay sharp,
desmobob

 

[koyote]

The big drawback to shotguns, especially the 12ga., is that the ammo is so bulky (and heavy). Hard to beat the versatility though. Carbines are great, but it's tricky shooting grouse, pheasants, ducks and geese with them.

Truth is, the .410, 28, and 20 gauge aren't very bulky. .410 especially is just a rifle round. Bigger around than a .223, but it's not a huge enough difference to matter much. Oddly, if you don't do any reloading, .410 is the easiest shotgun caliber to get every type of ammo for around here. from 7.5 bird to 6, 4, buck, and slug. It's actually quite impossible to find rabbit shot around here in 12 (or 20) ga.

 

[Jeff Clark]

Have you ever actually shot a short barreled shotgun from the hip. It is brutal on your ears--outdoors. I can't even imagine how loud it is indoors.

 

[koyote]

yeah. hundreds of rounds. Military.

12 ga .mil buck is quite an animal. But I think we're trying to consider versatility, not just pure home defense

 

[Cpl Punishment]

Shotguns are probably the most versatile single firearm out there, bar none.

FWIW, most anyone can learn to shoot rifled slugs (foster slugs, shot through a smoothbore, not sabot slugs) to 100 yards using nothing but the bead sight. If you have rifle sights (post and notch) on the barrel, you ca go a bit further with no trouble. They run about $1.25/round, even with the current high ammo prices. Not bad at all.

And for people that try to tell you that you *need* a 300 yard rifle for [insert game/area], just remember that all of those animals, including coues deer and ram (the most commonly cited reasons for long range), are taken every yeasr by traditional archers (traditional = longbows, recurves, self bows, etc, not compounds or crossbows). Anything that can be hunted with a traditional bow can be hunted more easily with a shotgun. Even a good magnum handgun.

Don't feel undergunned if all you have is a shotty.

 

[shotgunner11]

..... shotty is king.

Just quoting this for posterity sake.

 

[C Bryant]

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!

That is so nice. I have been wanting one of those for a while now. :thumbup:

I very much agree about the smaller guages. .410 is tough to beat and when it comes down to it there are few circumstances that would require anything larger than a 20ga. Though I do enjoy my 12ga when shooting clays.

and just because...

Remington takes a better picture

I have an 870 express 12ga 26" barrel which I love, but wanted something smaller for a home/camp gun. I was saving for a 18.5" barrel for it when this little beauty went one sale for not much more than just a barrel would have cost me, so I could not resist. Now I'm usually not one that is big on tactical shotguns, I prefer wood and an old timey feel, but I'm not going to complain. I'm not thrilled about the "door breacher" muzzle, but it threads out via chokes threads so that is no big deal to remove. I have a set of nice wood stocks but this model has a greyish powder coat that would just look funny with wood. Ah well.

 

[koyote]

it looks okay with wood- if it's the same finish as the express. Mine has wood stocks

 

[C Bryant]

it looks okay with wood- if it's the same finish as the express. Mine has wood stocks

It is not quite the same. It has a grayish slightly speckled powdercoat...I may just put the wood on to see.

 

[sixgunner455]

I'm with Koyote. I prefer the 20 gauge. Pheasants, quail, dove, rabbit -- all are more enjoyable to hunt with a nice, light 20. Couple of pounds less of gun, and the shells weigh less, too, but they still drop the birds.

If all I had was a 12, I'd still go out, but ... my shotguns are 20 gauge.

 

[mtnfolk mike]

nice looking shotty Christian...:thumbup: i really like those 870's...

i have always been in love with shotguns, just about as long as i can remember... i would not hesitate for a minute to rely on one in a SHTF scenario.. it is a very versatile gun...
i own 2 Mossbergs, one i have had since i was in 7th grade, it's a 26 in. barrelled 20 gauge, with all wood stock and forend.. it is a fantastic shooter.. it has taken down numerous birds over the years... the other i just scored a little over a year ago.. i actually traded 2 knives for it.. it's a 12 gauge Mossberg 500 with an 18.5 in. barrell... i love it... we got to shoot it a bunch at last years Ca. Bush Bash get-together...