Combo gun are they as great as I imagine?

nwtbolthunter

nwtbolthunter

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Hello
I keep thinking I need a combo gun. 12 gauge/223 12 gauge/357. Anyone have any experience with these? Also recomendations on buying a new/used one? Are they accurate? Are they awkward?
 
nwtbolthunter said:
Hello
I keep thinking I need a combo gun. 12 gauge/223 12 gauge/357. Anyone have any experience with these? Also recomendations on buying a new/used one? Are they accurate? Are they awkward?
Click to expand...

My friend has a .22LR/.410 he takes when we go hunting. The .410 is great as a grouse-getter, but I find the sights aren't 100% accurate when using the 22LR barrel. Not sure if that is a common issue.
 
I’ve sold mine. Didn’t like the extra lbs to carry. The most useful to me was a drilling 12\8mm. Shot a few coyotes while hunting waterfowl. The simple 2 single shots bound together does little for me. YMMV
 
Iv yet to find a use for one. Most seasons you cannot use one half of it anyway. Like if you are shooting anything in the air you should not have a round in the rifle and if you are shooting the rifle then what is a shell of something for. Better with a autoloader 12 or a semi rifle.
 
I have a voere 16g/222 it is nice and light,nothing awkward about it. It shot the only ammo ive tried into a 2" group at 100 yards. I prefer my 7x57r/12g for usefullness :) I plan on using it lots this upcoming season :)
 
Different combos have different purposes. A shotgun combined with a big game hunting rifle calibre is very useful in areas where you might find grouse, rabbits, ducks and other small game while hunting deer, moose and bear. Yes, the North American models by Savage and others are heavy and clumsy but they serve a purpose as an inexpensive one gun does it all. Start looking at European guns from Blaser, Sauer, Merkel, Heym, Rizzini, FAIR and others and you will find sleek, lightweight, accurate reliable hunting companions. My Heym Model 22S in 7x57R and 20 ga 3” will put three shots under a quarter every time and weighs 5 lb, 13 oz bare, 6 lb 10 oz with the scope mounted. In almost 40 years it has decked it’s share of moose and other big game and fed many hunting camps.
 
When push comes to shove, use the proper tool for the job is my thought.

I've had some lovely European BRNO O/U type doubles, chambered for 7x57R over 12 guage, a couple of Drillings and even a few Savages. The Brno combos usually had a 22 insert for the shotgun barrel

None of them were what I had hoped for.

22rf over 410???? Why? They're suitable for the same game and neither barrel is acceptably accurate IMHO

I presently have a Drilling with two 16 gauge barrels, one fitted with a 22 insert on the right barrel, lower barrel chambered for the 9.3x74R and topped with a Leupold 4X fixed power scope. I tried to sell it at a few gun shows, not much interest.

At most, it's a 100 yard gun, for Deer. It's heavy but swings up nicely.

In Europe these guns are popular where firearms enthusiasts are only allowed to have a specified number of firearms and one firearm has to cover a wider spectrum.

So far, that isn't the situation here.

I could see one in an airplane or boat of in a bush vehicle as a survival rifle, but other than that???????????
 
I have a Brno 305 7x57r over 12 gauge… because I always wanted one!! I think it would be a cool gun for caribou and ptarmigan, or moose and grouse! Unfortunately I wanted it mostly for moose and ducks but the barrels are not steel proof and are ( I say are cause I also have a set of 12 over 12 barrels) all full choke…
I will develop a load for it and will use it for sure!
 
I really like like combos and drillings. Check out some of my drilling threads:)….

I have a Baikal 22LR/20g that I use as my dedicated grouse gun. Runs about 7 lbs but is very accurate and swings surprisingly well. I have carried it up to 26miles one day with a small 1-3 Weaver scope going after grouse. I found the Baikal combos to be much better than the Savage 24s.

I have a BRNO ZH 305 in 5.6x52R over 12ga. It has quite good accuracy and a modified choke. I have a 3-9 power scope mounted and I use it for calling coyotes… best of both worlds with the rifle and shotgun. These guns are built like tanks and are quite heavy.

I find my drillings are much lighter and swing and point like a side by side shotgun. Amazing workmanship and just super cool. I intend to take one of my deer this year with my 12x12 over 9.3x53R Swiss Greifelt & Co drilling with open sights. I worked up a load this weekend that shoots very nicely with the Norma orynx 232gr bullet at 2400+ fps.

Would one of my bolts work better for the deer??? For a stand at 30-100yards…. Not really. The drillings really shine though for those who just want to get out and walk through the forest with a number of tags in your pocket looking for supper for that evening.

Careful once you start down this path, lol.
 
Combo guns "sound" like a good idea, but in fact are a deficient tool for the main job at hand. You end up compromising on your priority and lugging around largely unused steel. I have tried the concept many, many times (slow learner), but always come to that same conclusion. Pick the best tool for your priority and let the rest go, or find another way to accomplish the task.
 
Gota check the laws regarding combo guns in your province, I don’t use one because to my knowledge they’re illegal for hunting here in Newfoundland, unless the law has changed
 
I love my 16x16x/ 9.3X72R drilling! light and powerful.
My goal is to get some ruffed grouse and a deer the same day with it this year. I could have done it last year if I was carrying it.
Cat
 
I like one in a 22/20ga combo when going for a mixed hare/grouse hunts but when i am deer hunting i don't want to be blasting away at birds and only really bird hunt before and after deer season is done so it's usually either rifle or shotgun and not often looking to use both.
 
I also have a thing for combo guns but have to agree with all the criticisms already mentioned. I still like them though for some reason, have combos in 22lr/410, 12ga/.223 and 12ga/.308

Still kicking myself for not getting a drilling in 12ga/12ga/30-06 when I had the chance
 
I've owned a few savage 410/22 combo's and have yet to find one where the barrels were properly regulated. Ended up using see through scope mounts so I could shoot the 410 through the mounts and the .22 through the scope, but in the end, the novelty wore off very quickly and I got rid of them.
 
dand883 said:
I like one in a 22/20ga combo when going for a mixed hare/grouse hunts but when i am deer hunting i don't want to be blasting away at birds and only really bird hunt before and after deer season is done so it's usually either rifle or shotgun and not often looking to use both.
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Was about how I was brought up - if Dad back in there "pushing bush" to us, better have been a deer we shot at - better not have been a bird or a coyote. Today's hunting might be different - back then and there, was a decision about what it is that you are going after, and never were allowed to shoot at anything else.

BUT, some years later, in a poplar stand, my son was aiming at a line of white tails walking past on a trail - looking for the buck we had seen - I shot that buck maybe 75 yards away from him - and he says those deer never even flinched at the shot - so much for my Dad's story that unnecessary gunfire will "spook" what we were hunting? I suppose his thinking was that if he raised one in the bush and it took off toward us, a random shot might turn it in the bush to head elsewhere - to this day, I do not know that.
 
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