How useful is a short shotgun?

[superior]

This doesn't have much to do with cast boolits but I thought you guys would be a good bunch to ask about shotguns. I have an 18" bbl "Chinese 870" with ghost ring military sights and smooth cylinder bore. I know it makes for an effective slug gun out to 75 yards or so but is it any good using shot? I'm asking because a few days ago while walking down a logging trail, a group of about 20 quail took off right next to me, scaring the crap out of me for a second. I couldn't help but wonder.....If I would've had that short shotgun with me, could I have busted a few? Could I hunt small game with it? If I had threads installed for a choke system, would it be an " all around, do it all" woods gun? I sure like the gun and It's my defensive weapon of choice at home, but how useful is it in the woods?:-|

[peter nap]

You can use it but only short range.

It would be like me carrying my 1911 in the woods or my BFR in the city. All will work but I'd rather have the tool for the job.

[TDC]

Tsk! tsk!, and naughty, naughty, superior.... Quail season doesn't open until Sept. 1 in Oregon....[smilie=s: Aw.... If they weren't such tasty little critters...:[smilie=l:

[Tim357]

Years ago, I hunted the plains of Montana with a friend who shot a Browning Citori O/U. I used an old Ithaca 37 with a 20" cyl bore barrel. His reasoning was his longer bbl was way more effective than my "trench gun". Long story short, I got just as many Sharptailed Grouse as he did, so it's all a matter of knowing your limits...

[waksupi]

I use my cylinder bore 20 ga. flinters on birds, works fine. And season opens Tuesday!

[jack19512]

I have an 18" bbl |








This post fits right in with what I am doing now. I had to shorten my barrel to barely over 18 inches, it's a 20 ga. and I'm curious how it will pattern. It was my squirrel gun but don't know what it will be now. I was suppose to see how it would pattern today but I didn't get around to it. I would suggest you pick a distance and your choice of shot and see how it patterns.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

I have shot skeet, Trap, and Sporting clays ever sense I was young enough to shoot in 4-H. I love shooting at clays almost as much as much as I love bird hunting. In answer to your question an 18” barrel with the right choke is definitely capable to take some quail. I think your biggest handicap would be those rifle sights not the barrel length.

[southpaw]

The barrel length will affect your velocity ( and your swing ). You wont loose enough velocity to worry about tho. The cylinder choke should take you out to 20-25 yards. Shoot a few patterns and see if you can go further or if you need to keep the shots closer.

I was once told by a class 3 instructor that you can break any bird on the course ( sporting clays ) with a cylinder choke. But those are clay birds and it is realy no big loss if you only wound them.

If the gun fits good and you stay within your limitations it should make a good woods gun. Enjoy

Jerry Jr.

[redneckdan]

Some time ago I was at a trap range where a SOT manufacture was doing some demos of his wares. One weapon was a remington 870 with a full stock and chopped at 14" With this I was able to shoot just as well as with a 'normal' shotgun....muzzle flash was bit enhanced though...


If michigan allowed SBS I would have one. They are very handy in the grouse woods.

[superior]

Tsk! tsk!, and naughty, naughty, superior.... Quail season doesn't open until Sept. 1 in Oregon....[smilie=s: Aw.... If they weren't such tasty little critters...:[smilie=l:
Lol...I didn't say I would have busted some....the question was ..would I have been able to? Thanks for the replies, all. I wonder if the old "Poly-choke" can still be found? That might be the way to make the gun into an all around woods gun.??:p As far as velocity loss goes, maximum velocity in a shotgun occurs at about 13 inches so velocity doesn't suffer at all in an 18" bbl.

[mroliver77]

Also, If you load your own you can buy wads designed to hold a tighter pattern or the reverse opening it quicker. My old H&R single shot 12G shoots fantastic with Win AA. The cheapo Wal Mart rem bulk pack stuff it throws everywhere.
Jay

[222]

I have shot lot's of bird with a 18-20 inch barreled shotguns besides noise (seems louder than a 28inch barrel). I have shot pheasants and grouse even turkey with short unchoked 12ga. My kid's youth 20ga has 20in choked barrel and works well to but one has to remember to follow thru the shot.
Have fun and keep it safe.

[dominicfortune00]

I use my Mossberg 590 with a 20" barrel with cyl bore to hunt rabbits.

It works great, I never miss a rabbit.

Never tried it on birds much though.

[Southern Son]

Before my government decided that I could not be trusted with it, I had a Mossberg 500 with a 24 inch Slugster barrel (rifle sights and cyclinder bore) and a second 20 inch barrel wtih vent rib and bead sight. Came with 2 chokes (IIRC full and Imp Cyl.). I used to put the tighter choke in, grab a box of whatever brand No. 4s I could find and go after rabbits in the long grass. If you walked quietly, you could get pretty close (10 yards or so) before they broke and ran for their burrows. I had a ball blasting away at them. Got more than just a couple, too.

[Boz330]

Before my government decided that I could not be trusted with it, I had a Mossberg 500 with a 24 inch Slugster barrel (rifle sights and cyclinder bore) and a second 20 inch barrel wtih vent rib and bead sight. Came with 2 chokes (IIRC full and Imp Cyl.). I used to put the tighter choke in, grab a box of whatever brand No. 4s I could find and go after rabbits in the long grass. If you walked quietly, you could get pretty close (10 yards or so) before they broke and ran for their burrows. I had a ball blasting away at them. Got more than just a couple, too.

You can't own a shotgun in OZ? Or is the length of the barrel the issue? Here it has to be 18 inches or more. Just curious.

Bob

[runfiverun]

i shoot an improved cylinder in most all my shotguns for everything from geese down to huns.
i work with my loads though and some will throw a dang tight pattern out to 50 yds.
powder and wad selection does make a difference over distance.

[sheepdog]

Remember your local laws. You show up with an 8 shell capacity shotgun in a 3 shell max county the game warden will have your car, your gun, and your ass.

[Old Ironsights]

You can't own a shotgun in OZ? Or is the length of the barrel the issue? Here it has to be 18 inches or more. Just curious.

Bob
No Pump Guns in OZ.

They are "assault weapons" donchaknow, good for nothing but killing lots of peoples... :roll:

[Four Fingers of Death]

You can't own a shotgun in OZ? Or is the length of the barrel the issue? Here it has to be 18 inches or more. Just curious.

Bob

We are no longer allowed to own pump action shotguns (a 300WM Pump action Browning rifle is ok, made sence to someone) or autos. There are a few exemptions for clay shooters and guns have to be physically restricted to 2 shots. A lot of hassle with licensing and I have yet to see one on the range. They obviously didn't know about lever shotguns and you can now buy those here.

As far as doubles and combinations go there is no real issue, I own 8 or 9, just no autos or pumps. Miss my old 870, never loaded more than 4 shots, now I have a 7600 Police in 308 with 10 shot mags, which is legal, where's the sense in that???

[dk17hmr]

My dad has a Mossberg with an 18.5" barrel cylinder bore and we both have used it in the woods for rabbits and birds. I kill more birds with it than I do my 28" shotguns. My brother who is a better shotgunner than I can bust clays with the house gun out to 35 yards. Its a handy little shotgun.

Once had a Sporting Clays shooter, state champ, tell me that it doesnt matter what choke, what barrel, what ammo, you use if you break clays with it doesnt matter.

[HiVelocity]

For what its worth-

I know several law enforcement officers who routinely use their own personal 870 Remingtons for everything, both on and off duty. Four in particular took their 870 18" HD barrels and had them tapped for Remchokes. All the ones I talked to told me that they use them for everything, including slugs with a slug tube in.

I too, have 2 870's. One fully rifled with a scope, the other with an 18" short barrel for "serious" business. I shoot Dixie Slugs "Tri-Ball" in my short HD version.
Short barrelled shotguns are extremely versatile. Www.DixieSlugs.com.

Just food for thought,

HiVelocity in SC

[jack19512]

This post fits right in with what I am doing now. I had to shorten my barrel to barely over 18 inches, it's a 20 ga. and I'm curious how it will pattern. It was my squirrel gun but don't know what it will be now. I was suppose to see how it would pattern today but I didn't get around to it. I would suggest you pick a distance and your choice of shot and see how it patterns.








I finally got a chance to pattern the shotgun that I had to shorten the barrel on, it still patterns quite well. I compared it to the new 20 ga. full choke shotgun I bought and although it didn't pattern as tight, and I never expected it to, it still patterns well enough for other hunting purposes.

[Dorf]

One of my favorite rabbit guns is a 12ga H&R topper with a 24" cyl bore barrel. Just feed it WWAA trap loads and it's deadly. Also have a Stevens M94b 16ga with the same length barrel that has been slightly "jug" choked. Makes a real handy "truck gun". I usually chop 'em to 24 " as that gives them pretty good balance and they come in at about the same overall length as a pump or autoloader with the 18-20" slug barrels. YMMV Stan

[C A Plater]

I've got a nice sweet 20ga. CZ coach gun. I has screw in choke tubes so I've got a lot of flexibility. It doesn't swing as nice as typical long shotguns do so it is not that good for wing shooting. On the other hand it is great on bouncing bunnies and any "steady" shot and carries well. Somewhere down on my to-do list is to make a round ball load for the cylinder choke and a buck shot load for a ball and buck combo. No real need for that but what the heck, it'll be fun to play with.