18.5" barrel for hunting

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elijah_lee

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Sadly south of highway 40
Ok so my hunting buddy's gun just broke and he feel on some hard financial times so I'm thinking of lending him my Mav.88 with a 3" cylinder bore 18.5" barrel but would he be able to affectively take game with it (rabbit,squirrel,goose,deer,duck...etc) or is the barrel to short now this is opinion based I'm really just looking to see if anyone does it

Thanks

Jason
 
Depending on your hunting environment it could actually be an improvement in some locations.
Hunting bunnies, squirrel and grouse in dense bush it will be easier to get on target and less likely to hang up on branches.
Slug hunting deer and other large game it will be effective at short ranges but hard to keep consistent past 50-75yrds. With a decent optic on top it still might be surprisingly effective up to 100+ yards. Your mileage may vary.
Waterfowl it will be a royal pain for. Hard to "point" a short barreled shot gun effectively.
My .02
 
Considering there are no seasons open for another 2 months for small game etc. How can he not have time to fix his gun?
 
I use mine for everything when im deep in the bush. works for bear defense as well.
you can take everything from bunnies to bears with a shotty and the right load.
 
Winchested said:
Considering there are no seasons open for another 2 months for small game etc. How can he not have time to fix his gun?
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can shoot bunnies year round I believe. along with wild pigs, gray squirrel, coyotes, and other pesky critters...
 
Don't expect any long distance pass shooting on migratory birds. Depending on the degree of choke that may or may not be present in this shotgun, one might very well do just fine on the upland species depending on your engagement distance. Closer would be better I think. I going to ignore deer hunting as you did not say if this particular shotgun has rifle sights for slug shooting. Very few hunters really have the self-discipline to hold off on buckshot until you are standing on the deer's back. lol
 
The people that say a 18.5" barrel is useless have never taken the time to learn how to use one. They may not swing like a 30" barreled over under but no cheap pump gun does anyway.
Tailor the loads to the gun and target and it will be fine with proper practice. I've taken ducks geese and bunnies out to 40 yards with my mossberg 18.5" cylinder barrel. I use mine a lot for buckshot and slugs and know it's limits.
There is still a core pattern even with short cylinder barrels learn to put that on target and you will get positive results
 
elijah_lee said:
Ontario we have seasons for bunnys an squirrel and I'm a gunsmith I could fix it but it's a POS that isn't worth fixing the parts would cost more than the whole things worth
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?? Odd question from someone who's a gunsmith!?!?!

I wouldnt use a 18.5" barrel that is likely cylinder choked on ducks, geese or turkey. You'll wound just about everything, and recover just about nothing. You should be able to still use it in thick brush on the small mammals you speak of, as long and your shooting distance isnt to far. And as mentioned earlier, the key would b to pick the right load for the hunting situation....but you're a gunsmith, so you should have plenty of experience with that.
 
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