Cooey 840 / winchester 37A question

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TheCarpenter

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Okay, this has probably been beaten to death ALL over the internet and i see two camps: Yes you can, and no don't do it!

Yep, slugs in full choke in these guns..

I love these guns, they're a piece of history. but is it going to ruin my barrel? blow up? be super innacurate at 50 yards?

I know I can't run sabot but supposed to be able to run "rifled" slugs. I trust my canadian gun nutz about our firearms more than a bunch of google searches, so what do you guys think?

and yes, I have other shotguns, I just really like my old single shot guns. (may as well practice, that's all we'll have left in a couple years)

EDIT: Also, same with buckshot, where they're such large pellets is it safe to run them through, or is that an issue?

Carpenter
 
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Can you shoot a slug load in one of those guns? All I can tell you is that I've seen it done once -- to absolutely spectacular effect.

I was, as I recall, 11 years old at the time tagging along with my dad on a grouse hunt. His go-to gun at the time was an old Winchester 37A 12 gauge. Every time we went out, he always made a point of having a couple of Imperial slug loads just in case we stumbled upon a deer or a bear.

We already had close to a limit of birds and had begun the walk back to the pickup when a lone bird flushed high and skimmed the top of the poplars. Without missing a beat, he shouldered the gun, swung on the bird, and squeezed the trigger.

What happened next defies description. My impression at the time was that someone had just pulled the pin on a hand grenade and stuffed it in a feather pillow. There were feathers absolutely everywhere, wafting away in a cloud that slowly filled the autumn afternoon sky.

I looked at my father for an explanation, but he was staring at the scene completely dumbfounded. Eventually, he broke open the action and caught the ejected empty ... and there was his answer. Printed on the purple hull in yellow letters were the words "Poly Cor Slug."

To this day, it was the best damn wing shot I've ever seen. And no, it did no harm to the gun.
 
leeaspell said:
I shoot both of them out of mine with no I'll effects.
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What's the accuracy like at what distances? Buckshot Is probably what I would carry although i prefer the idea of slugs for hunting. I can't wrap my head around not lining up a rear and front sight as opposed to instinctively shooting with a bead.
 
lucky07 said:
Buckshot is fine as well. Years ago I ran a Mossberg 395 fixed full choke hunting coyotes for most of one winter just for the hell of it. Lots of 3" 00 buck fired through it. No issues.
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That's great to know. what what was the accuracy like using a full choke?
 
TheCarpenter said:
That's great to know. what what was the accuracy like using a full choke?
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Patterned great with remington 3" 00 buck. Out of that thing I was knocking them down pretty reliably out to 90 yards or so. Farthest one I remember was 110 yards climbing up a hill.

Just a little caveat here, we hunt with dogs so I'll sometimes shoot that far out because even if it's not a bang flop the dogs will stay on them/catch 'em and it's game over for them anyways. I won't shoot at a coyote 100 yards away if there's no dogs on it. It's just a friggin coyote after all but I still don't want to take the chance at having one get away wounded.
 
TheCarpenter said:
What's the accuracy like at what distances? Buckshot Is probably what I would carry although i prefer the idea of slugs for hunting. I can't wrap my head around not lining up a rear and front sight as opposed to instinctively shooting with a bead.
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Pie plate at 50 yards with Remington sluggers. I don't really hunt with them, just carry a couple in my pocket while chicken hunting, just incase. The thing kicks like a mule though haha
 
Keep it in perspective: the foster rifled slug was designed almost 100 years ago and the most common shotguns in those days were the single shot full choke version. They had to be compatible with that gun or there would have been an uproar from millions of upset owners with shot out chokes. I would say the only threat to these guns is steel shot and folks who are uninformed about the issue.
 
TheCarpenter said:
Okay, this has probably been beaten to death ALL over the internet and i see two camps: Yes you can, and no don't do it!

Yep, slugs in full choke in these guns..

I love these guns, they're a piece of history. but is it going to ruin my barrel? blow up? be super innacurate at 50 yards?

I know I can't run sabot but supposed to be able to run "rifled" slugs. I trust my canadian gun nutz about our firearms more than a bunch of google searches, so what do you guys think?

and yes, I have other shotguns, I just really like my old single shot guns. (may as well practice, that's all we'll have left in a couple years)

EDIT: Also, same with buckshot, where they're such large pellets is it safe to run them through, or is that an issue?

Carpenter
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You'll be fine, provided the slugs and buck are soft lead. Hardened or plated shot, I wouldn't. Cheap antimony slugs, I wouldn't.
 
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