Smooth bore .22LR

[richhodg66]

Picked up one of these "Garden Guns" at a small town gun show this morning real cheap. This one is a Mossberg. I have always wondered how those .22 shot loads would work out of something like this, guess I'll find out now.

Anyone have experience with these or some words of wisdom? I plan on starting gardening this year, so might be a handy thing to carry while working in it.

[Mr Peabody]

My parents gave me a rifle like that, it shoots very well. I shot a lot of English sparrows on my hunting trips in the back yard. The crimped brass cases seemed better than the plastic nose loads.

[Wayne Smith]

Saw an article last year using those 'hunt' grasshoppers.

[Art in Colorado]

I wonder how close accuracy would be with regular 22 ammo?

[bassnbuck]

I shot mo skeet at Boy Scout camp with smooth bore .22s back in the 60s. Small clay pigeons, small thin pattern,good practice. I believe you will get a better pattern with the smooth bore than a rifled barrel. Just keep your shots close range at small critters.

[Traffer]

The statement about hunting grasshoppers reminded me of this: I just had to post it. How much fun...
https://youtu.be/JmqTHLn1JWg

[Mk42gunner]

In theory the smoothbore should do away with the donut shaped patterns caused by the rifling.

Be careful shooting at anything hard, those itty bitty #12's like to bounce.

Robert

[SWANEEDB]

Picked up one of these "Garden Guns" at a small town gun show this morning real cheap. This one is a Mossberg. I have always wondered how those .22 shot loads would work out of something like this, guess I'll find out now.

Anyone have experience with these or some words of wisdom? I plan on starting gardening this year, so might be a handy thing to carry while working in it.

Don't know what model you have but Mossberg had one called "Targo", had a 'Pidgen thrower' that attached to the barrel, if yours is threaded at muzzle they did make a threaded barrel with rifleing about 8/10 inches long. Mini-skeet shooting was fairly big in the 50 & 60's, clay birds were called "Mo Skeet O".

[bob208]

I used them at scout camp to shoot skeet also. it was in the 60's. the ones we had were 514 remingtons.

[country gent]

I have thought about the trap skeet with one. kind of envisioned a little hand thrower made to throw neco candy wafers for targets. Remington. Winchester, Mossberg, Savage, and marvel among others made these smooth bore 22s. Also a lot were home made with a reamer just removing the rifling to the chamber. I made several extended reamers for this for guys. While the reamers were legal the rifles modified with them weren't.

[richhodg66]

Swung by the local Wal Mart and they didn't have any shotshells for .22s. Funny, seems like that was all the .22 ammo they had for a long time. I'll find some.

This one doesn't have a threaded barrel. I'll look closer at the markings on it and see what I find.

We were over run with grasshoppers late Summer of last year, this year I planned to get out a BB gun and have fun with them. Might shoot a few with this. We have snakes in the yard, but I honestly never run across venomous ones in Kansas. While clearing my folks out of their place in Texas, I killed three in their yard in 20 hours or so, one of which was a rather close call and was within arms length and at chest level of my Dad. this little gun would have been handy then.

I like the idea of the Neco wafers as targets. I wonder what I could arrange for a thrower.

[Mr Peabody]

Mine shoots standard rifle shells very well. It's what I'm told is a polygonal bore. It looks smooth but the twist is built in by the mandrel it was created on.

[richhodg66]

Don't know what model you have but Mossberg had one called "Targo", had a 'Pidgen thrower' that attached to the barrel, if yours is threaded at muzzle they did make a threaded barrel with rifleing about 8/10 inches long. Mini-skeet shooting was fairly big in the 50 & 60's, clay birds were called "Mo Skeet O".

I just looked closer at it, it says TARGO 26T on the barrel. It's not threaded though, Looked down the bore, nice and smooth its whole length.

Gotta find some shotshells. I think I'm going to have fun with this.

[country gent]

"Maybe a simple scaled down version of one of the cheap rubber plastic ones you see around at walmarts or in gun shops that sell for just a few dollars. Might be able to have it made on a 3d printer machines. Finding the right material will be the hard part for it. Id think something 10" to 12" long would give them a good speed and flight for this.

[NyFirefighter357]

I have 2 Rem Mod. 33 that are rifled but they made them as well in smooth bore. I've been looking for one for a while. I have a few boxes of that old crimped shot I'd like to put through one.

[Drm50]

I have had Rems smooth bore, I think this is called Rutledge bore. No experience shooting them.

[KCSO]

You bet had a Wingo in a Mossberg with the rifled tube to screw on the front. With the tube on it was good for rats and such out to 35 yards or more and with the smooth bore barrel the shot loads were deadly on bats at 50-60 feet. Now the Wingo thrower is worth more than the gun. A buddy has the whole set and gloats over the day he talked me out of it.

[Multigunner]

"Mine shoots standard rifle shells very well. It's what I'm told is a polygonal bore. It looks smooth but the twist is built in by the mandrel it was created on. "

Possibly like the Lancaster Oval Bore used on Howdah pistols and big bore African game double guns. In cross section the bore was oval and the oval shape twisted through the bore like rifling. It didn't bite into shot charges enough to disrupt a shot pattern. Shot cups though would defeat the purpose.

[trooperdan]

I have a Marlin smoothbore in .22 MAG and it is deadly on squirrels a, snake & general yard vermin. I once had a collection of 5 different .22 SB, including a 572. stupidly let them go very cheap and now they bring big bucks.

[NavyVet1959]

I don't have a smoothbore barrel, but I've experimented with using .22 power loads (nail gun blanks) with 55 gr of bird shot sandwiched between two wads of paper towel rammed into the barrel from the muzzle end of the barrel. There is a definite donut pattern generated. :)

[richhodg66]

I don't have a smoothbore barrel, but I've experimented with using .22 power loads (nail gun blanks) with 55 gr of bird shot sandwiched between two wads of paper towel rammed into the barrel from the muzzle end of the barrel. There is a definite donut pattern generated. :)

I found some of the Federal crimped shotshells today, so we'll find out soon what she'll do.

I bought a few boxes f those blanks from Menards a few years ago thinking of trying some of my cast .22 bullets in. I was advised not to try it. I might try the shot idea with the lower powered ones, at least I could use something bigger than #12s that way.

[NavyVet1959]

I found some of the Federal crimped shotshells today, so we'll find out soon what she'll do.

I bought a few boxes f those blanks from Menards a few years ago thinking of trying some of my cast .22 bullets in. I was advised not to try it. I might try the shot idea with the lower powered ones, at least I could use something bigger than #12s that way.

Some of us have been experimenting with the power loads. The .22 caliber power loads fit the .22LR chambers and the .25 caliber power loads seem to fit the .22 mag chambers.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?317921-22-rimfire-alternative

[lightload]

I was in London in 1984 and went into a gun shop. The owner told me that many Brits owned smooth bore center fire rifles because the lack of rifling was a loop hole for them. I never learned whether or not he was telling the truth. The guy, who was a jerk, was horrified when I told him that at home I kept a 12 pump loaded with buck shot for self defense.

[Multigunner]

Reaming out the rifling has been a loophole collectors of military rifles use. I've also seen a smoothbore Marlin lever action advertised for sale in the UK. To beat it all it came with a suppressor.
It was chambered for a .410 shot shell but not sure if it was the USA type shot shell or the smaller diameter British .410 shot shell.