Effective Range of a 22" Barrel

[Chugga]

What would be considered the effective range of a cylinder bore 22" barrel on a 12 gauge SxS shotgun? Could you hunt upland game with a gun like this?

 

[sherlockbonez]

That depends on what type of upland game you hunt.

 

[Grouse Man]

I'd be very comfortable shooting out to 30 yards with upland-sized shot.

 

[straightshooter]

Yes, you can hunt with a short barreled, cylinder bore barrel. It can even be an advantage for early season, thick bush hunting.

The effective range will vary depending on the shells used - primarily due to the shot cup being more effective at keeping the shot string bunched up with some loads.

Chances are that your effective range will be no more than 25 yards, but there's no way to be certain unless you pattern both barrels with the shells that will be used.

If the barrels were cut, there's a high likelihood that the regulation will be off, too (see the other thread on chopped SXS barrels in the "shotgun" forum today).

 

[Ahsan Ahmed]

What would be considered the effective range of a cylinder bore 22" barrel on a 12 gauge SxS shotgun?

Numerous variables would have to be taken into consideration in this aspect i.e. in terms of load type to be used such as Slug, Buckshot, Birdshot etc. Needless to mention that one would observe different results/figures as such.

Could you hunt upland game with a gun like this?

Again, there will be variables in terms of terrain, expected shooting distances, shooting conditions etc. Having said that, yes, one could easily use that for Upland provided you keep your shots within reasonable range - upto 20yds is a safe figure, IMHO, for ethical kills. #7 and #8 birdshots will generally perform better.

 

[Ahsan Ahmed]

If the barrels were cut, there's a high likelihood that the regulation will be off, too (see the other thread on chopped SXS barrels in the "shotgun" forum today).

LOL! Good point.

 

[Chugga]

The barrels are not cut. They are factory 22" barrels. I would mainly be wanting to hunt grouse, partridge and pheasant.

 

[straightshooter]

The barrels are not cut. They are factory 22" barrels. I would mainly be wanting to hunt grouse, partridge and pheasant.

Then you can ignore the part about POA regulation and only concern yourself with patterning the loads you'd like to use and keeping the shots below 30, 25, or 20 yards, depending on who you want to believe (Despite the apparent disagreement, I'd say we all agree that you'd be limited to shorter distances for reasonable expectation of a clean kill.)

 

[Chugga]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Clean kills are always a priority for any ethical hunter and that is always my main goal. Would using larger shot sizes increase the range by much if any at all?

 

[straightshooter]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Clean kills are always a priority for any ethical hunter and that is always my main goal. Would using larger shot sizes increase the range by much if any at all?

No, but there's a chance that larger shot will retain more energy and do a better job of killing the bird.

Trouble is, the reverse could be true, too. Larger shot might mean just enough fewer pellets that your pattern has larger gaps and the bird gets away injured when a couple more pellets on target might have done the trick.

6 of one - a half dozen of the other.

Best thing to do is to pattern the ammo you intend to use. That way, you know if you can sacrifice a little pattern density in favor of more lethal hits. Or, whether your patterns are already too thin to contemplate reducing the pellet count further.