My Every Night Dog walk companion.

[Barry54]

Adam, what choke constriction do you use for your mixed bag of after dark shotgun loads?

Tennessee has recently created a nighttime coyote/bobcat season and it’s shotgun only. I think T shot or 0.200 is the largest permissible size currently. But don’t quote me on that. I told my wife I want a 0.190” Marty’s mold for Christmas.

Seems like a reasonable load for me to have in the ready for issues after dark. At least I will have a legitimate reason for the shot size. There are no bears here, so coyote or smaller are the usual vermin around here.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Adam a trip to the top of the page and go thru the [B] "What I did to my Shotguns" [B] thread will help with gun set up.

Also Look at the part about "Cruiser Ready." Hammer down on Empty Chamber, Magazine Loaded, Safety Off. You pick the gun up and rack the slide and you are in business! No thinking involved !!!

Velcro Side Saddles are your friend, they are cheap, and they work, and they are very fast to change out. With one on the gun and the mag loaded you have 11 rounds on board. If you pick another one up and put it in a pocket you have 6 more rounds. Avoid the Plastic or Metal Side Saddles as they are permanently in the way, when loaded or not.

Also you need a light on the gun so you can see what you are shooting at.

Here's a pic of my house gun. It has a "Vang Comped Barrel" with Rifle Sights that shoots 00 Buck into 7" at 25 yards. Buck is viable out to 35-40 yards with that gun. It shoots Slugs really well too.

All the pics show things that make that gun a pleasure to use, and those things don't distract from your concentration when you need it most.

Randy

[Ithaca Gunner]

I prefer an M-1 Carbine for such activities, but when a fighting shotgun is in order, it's hard to beat an Ithaca M-37 Magnum.



With the riot barrel, (as shown) it shines with 3'' 00 15 pellet buckshot. With it's smoothbore Deer Slayer barrel, I like ''buck&ball'', 3 .31 shot nested under a .69 ball in a BP Brush wad in an A-A hull.

[Adam Helmer]

Adam, what choke constriction do you use for your mixed bag of after dark shotgun loads?

Tennessee has recently created a nighttime coyote/bobcat season and it’s shotgun only. I think T shot or 0.200 is the largest permissible size currently. But don’t quote me on that. I told my wife I want a 0.190” Marty’s mold for Christmas.

Seems like a reasonable load for me to have in the ready for issues after dark. At least I will have a legitimate reason for the shot size. There are no bears here, so coyote or smaller are the usual vermin around here.

Barry54,

My 12 gauge pump guns all are Mod Choke. After much testing, it seemed the best choice for my farm and loads. In my favorite Browning Citori, I have Full and IC. My 20 gauge 1100 is Mod choke.

I hope this helps.

Adam

[Barry54]

Yes. Thank you.

[W.R.Buchanan]

The Ithaca M37 was used by many police agencies for many years until the Rem 870 came out. The biggest problem with the M37 is it is nearly impossible to single load one. it is best to jsut not run the gun dry. Shoot two load two etc.

One of the first Steven Segal Movies he used an Ithaca and actually blew a guy's leg off at about 5 yards, he was also seen Reloading before the gun was empty. I have seen others show how they single load one, but it is not nearly as fast as just shoving a round in the Magazine and Racking the Slide.

When using mine for Skeet I load 2 rounds for the up coming stage and rack the slide to chamber the first Round. This was the fastest way to do it. There was another guy with an Ithaca and he turned the gun over and slipped the first round past the Lifter and closed the slide and then thumbed one into the mag tube. He wouldn't listen to me on the loading sequence so I made sure I was on another squad.

The cops all dumped the M37 when the Rem 870 came out.

When using my Mossberg 500 for Skeet, I Port Load the first round and close the slide and then shove another round into the mag tube. I Have done 26 rounds in 2 Min. 7 seconds on a 3 gun stage by firing the first 6 rounds from the Magazine and then Port Loading the remaining 20 rounds in the stage, rather than trying to reload the the magazine 5 times. That's a 4.9 second split time and I was getting pretty tired about Reload #15!!!

Randy

[elmacgyver0]

Adam, I'm glad you are enjoying your walks with your dog. I'm not a shotgun guy but it seems you can never have too many of them, I just bought a double barrel Turkish one with exposed hammers.
Take care and enjoy your walks.
Very few things are more pleasurable than time with your four-footed friends.

[lightload]

The above mentioned pit bull will be back if it gets loose again. I suspect the it tracked the cats back to your house. My opinion is that this dog would attack you if it could. Fools have messed up the genetics of some lines of these dogs by improper breeding.

[John Wayne]

The above mentioned pit bull will be back if it gets loose again. I suspect the it tracked the cats back to your house. My opinion is that this dog would attack you if it could. Fools have messed up the genetics of some lines of these dogs by improper breeding.

Yes he'll be back. I have an Ithaca Mag 10 Road Blocker with a 25" barrel and unknown choke on the way. I have searched every current thread and the archive search for pellet size and 10ga loads suitable for a big Pitbull at 40 yards max. No data on that, so any advice would be greatly appreciated! I almost always have the golf cart with me for yard work tools. The Warden had me plant the 5 acre front yard heavily for the birds and butterflies ;^) Not many long shots here. The cart has a gun rack which will have the 10ga and an AR on it.
Thank you! Ps. I'm familiar with 10's as I have Goose hunted with one.
JW

[Frosty Boolit]

A smoothbore cylinder choked 870 is a constant companion wherever it's rural. A pistol is nice but I think the worst trouble I can come across would be a tweeker or meth head so 12ga it is.

[jimb16]

I prefer my old 97 Winchester 12 ga. riot gun. Double aught works just fine for anything I might need to shot. Bears are rare around here, but two legged critters aren't. Racoons are plentiful too. I live in the burbs, but spend a lot of time in the country/back woods. Besides, with the old 97 you don't have to release the trigger, just keep pumping away. Boom!, boom! boom! boom! BTW, does anyone here think 8 shotguns is enough? I didn't think so....

[BearBio]

Seems like overkill for such small game! Anything larger possible?? Bears? Even wolves or cougars are thin skinned and have light bones, so they don't need all that artillery. And, as a Wildlife Biologist, I can say the chances of wolves, if present, attacking are miniscule! Number 4 buck would suffice for anything likely and even light bird shot will work at close range (Capstick shot a lioness in Africa with dove loads he carried at night for mambas).

Just saying!

BTW: I have an older Model 12 (no trigger disconnect) for a house gun with #4 buck. "Rural" city dweller with VERY occasional cougar or bear in the PNW. Moose scare me the most!

[SteveM54]

"I own too many shotguns"
This is the ONLY thing I will ever disagree with Sir.

[W.R.Buchanan]

A smoothbore cylinder choked 870 is a constant companion wherever it's rural. A pistol is nice but I think the worst trouble I can come across would be a tweeker or meth head so 12ga it is.

Frosty: a "Tweeker" IS a "Meth Head!" They are called "Tweeker's" because as Meth Heads they are usually up all night, and to keep busy they are out and about testing doors and "tweeking" on all your stuff. Anything that is not nailed down is subject to removal, usually for resale to get funds to buy more dope. I once saw a guy who was stealing Garden Hoses and selling them at his Garage Sale. Not very often you see 50 garden hoses rolled up for sale in the same place. He also had nozzles and other hose attachments!

We had a pair come thru our neighborhood one night and were stealing credit cards from mail boxes. They got into my Big Truck and stole my 6 cell Maglite and a card that was in the console. They were caught a few hours later at 6 AM trying to buy breakfast at the local Carrow's Restaurant in downtown Ojai with a stolen Credit Card. I got all my stuff back!, and the guy and his girl friend went to jail for a while.

Whereas, if I had been able to confront them with my shotgun I probably wouldn't have shot them, but I might have Shot AT them just for "Dramatic Effect?"

Nothing changes behavior faster than being shot at with a shotgun.

Randy

[lightload]

A friend shot an attacking pit bull at point blank range. His shotgun was loaded with #9 shot. The dog stopped but survived. This event occurred in his garage. The dog, which belonged to a neighbor, had escaped his yard. The friend had returned from skeet shooting. Another friend had a similar experience. A "loose" pit bull attacked him in his yard. He killed him by shooting him in the head with a North American Arms 22 Mag. In my neighborhood a vicious pit got loose, and somebody killed him and hauled him off.

An old school duck load like #4 lead shot would work well.

[Adam Helmer]

A friend shot an attacking pit bull at point blank range. His shotgun was loaded with #9 shot. The dog stopped but survived. This event occurred in his garage. The dog, which belonged to a neighbor, had escaped his yard. The friend had returned from skeet shooting. Another friend had a similar experience. A "loose" pit bull attacked him in his yard. He killed him by shooting him in the head with a North American Arms 22 Mag. In my neighborhood a vicious pit got loose, and somebody killed him and hauled him off.

An old school duck load like #4 lead shot would work well.

lightload,

Excellent observation! When in gravest extreme one MUST use whatever gun you have. ANY gun is Better than no gun, so employ what your have. I had that experience last Thursday here on my 60 acre farm. As I drove my Ranger onto my upper field, I saw a BIG porky high up in a leafless tree. The porky was coming down, so I did not have time to go get my 12 gauge and #4 Buckshot 1,000 yards away.

All I had was a historic Battle of the Bulge P-38 captured by my veteran neighbor in January 1945. I had her stoked with my old duty load of 147 grain JHP. It took 6 rounds to finally drop the huge porky. So much for 9mm effectiveness, in my opinion. In the past I had my old duty M1911A1 and cast 200 grain cast SWC or 230 grain Jhp and no porky deeded a "Double Tap."

My conclusion is: Carry a 9mm and shoot until the threat stops, or carry a .45 and make the STOP! Whatever.

Adam