All About Shotguns,Q&A

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kaskad

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Hi All,I just booked my hunting education course and I enjoy shooting clay's I was wondering if you guys could share some opinions about different types of shotguns that you use. I personally have very little experience in that matter and my first shotgun was rather a bad choice. I'm about 5'5 and the length of it made it difficult to handle,the stock was too long so I had to hyper extend:d.I'm currently looking at Mossberg Maverick with a 2 barrel combo,it seems much lighter and the length of pull fits me better.Does anyone use it for hunting at all?Is it reliable in the outdoors?

Also I came across of a semi auto shotgun on the dealer forum Savage Springfield 745B,looks interesting and priced to sell,cant find much about it online and was wondering if anyone owns it ,maybe you can shed some light on that firearm.I'd be interested in barrel length,overall length,weight and the length of the stock starting from the pistol grip to the end of the butt.

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1838424-Used-Gun-Sale-Shinanigans

All tips from experienced users are appreciated , also if any newbies would ask additional questions please do so,it will make our discussion better

Cheers.
 
What are your main uses for the shotgun going to be and guesstimate on ammount of shells you plan to shoot annually?

Initial advice would be to skip your first two choices.
 
I'm thinking up to 500CAD for the start. 745B seems interesting and the size looks fairly small for a semi auto.I dont think I would be buying it tho.
 
I would suggest w being 5’5” you may want to try a “youth” shotgun n see how that feels. The shorter stock may change the balance for you
Cheers

cueball
 
You mention shooting clay targets and also starting to hunt and it appears that you are looking for an all round shotgun, my guess because of what you have already been considering would be that you have a limited budget. The logical choice of course is a good reliable field gun, it will do fine for casual clays shooting. As usual, if your budget can stretch over $1000 you can't go wrong with a good used Beretta or Browning Citori over/under with choke tubes in field configuration. A good reliable used auto by Remington, Beretta, Browning, Winchester, with choke tubes will give you good service at a reasonable price if it hasn't been shot to death. Very few field guns are shot a great deal, target guns can have 10's of thousands of rounds through them and can be a headache. The same pretty well applies to pumps, stick to a lightly used brand name gun that has been well cared for and removable choke tubes will make the gun versatile for field or range. Shotguns are very different in construction than rifles and most repeaters are not as robust as the B gun over/unders. I would stay away from cheap guns with no proven track record, especially if they come from countries with little or no private usage of firearms. Yes, the big brand names are more expensive. There are several good reasons for that; they invest in product development, they use the best materials for each part, most importantly, their success has been built on quality and their reputation is an assurance of that quality. There are a number of models available with shorter stocks and/or lighter weight, one of these may be a better fit for you and almost any gun can have the stock shortened and the pad refitted or a new one installed.
 
IF you are OK with a pump ... find an Ithaca model 37, a Remington 870, or an older Winchester model 12. All three have their avid fans, and have proven themselves to be "lifetime" reliable.
The 870 in particular has a ton of after market bits available for its repair (seldom needed), or upgrading. Measure your ideal length of pull, and either cut the stock to the length you need, or find a friend or a smith who can do it for you ... not expensive. If you're lucky, you'll find one that has a modified choke, or an adjustable choke. If not, you can have a smith change the choke from Full to Modified, or even to Improved Cylinder ... not expensive either. That will make the gun suitable for hunting and/or casual clay busting. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't kill grouse, ducks, or geese with 2 3/4" shot shells. A budget of $300 - $600 should be plenty. Don't worry about barrel length, as anything from 26"-30" will do the trick. The more critical bit is the LOP.

P.S. I am over 70 years old, still shooting and hunting (though less than in my younger years), and I have shrunk somewhat from the 5'6" or 5'7" I was in my young adulthood. Amongst my shotguns is my Dad's 870 Deluxe (1951) and several older Ithaca 37s ... the most recently acquired being a 12 gauge manufactured in 1947, which I purchased about 2 years ago for $290. I also have a newer 870 Deluxe which was bought in the early 90s when I foolishly fell for the story that 2 3/4" shotshells would no longer kill waterfowl.

Have fun shopping, and whatever you decide to do, remember, just like most decisions we make, it doesn't have to be permanent.
 
Icedog , thanks a lot for the idea I will look around at the local gun shows,winchester and ithaca looks interesting and it all seem in my price range.
 
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