Hunting with 18.5" shotgun

Denka

Denka

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I had here a discussion with my bud about hunting with 18.5'' shotgun, any type of game - deer, turkey, duck, geese, etc. I say you can and it might affect shot pattern, but still will get job done.

Anyone else here thinks same?
 
My Remington 870 shoots slugs fantastic at 50..8" gong no prob at 100..#4 and #2 buck good at 50..good enough for coyotes..patterns turkey loads well to 35 yards..

It's great for deer, dogs and turkey

Don't duck hunt tho
 
The lack of choke or choke tubes in most 18.5" barrels is their biggest handicap. Also they don't swing as smoothly as a longer barrel for shooting waterfowl. I've done all but turkey with mine here and decided I prefer a longer barrel for everything except deer, even grouse in the thick cover a pump or semi with a 22" barrel or double with a 26" seems better to me.
 
For a bush beating hunt...why not. But as mentioned, the lack of chokes and a nice smooth swing are detrimental.
You may need to take a few cracks at any larger game though with it. Good thing its a pump then I guess...
 
nobody else? common fellas, good/bad feedback is welcome. Like I said, shotgun has chokes, pattern is known. Anyone hunt with 18.5'' or nah?
 
There is a very good reason why sporting clays shotguns have 28-32" barrel length. Smooth swing, higher hit percentage, longer sighting plane, less recoil jump, less noise and blast, just to name a few. The trend to shorter and shorter barrels in hunting gun "fashion" is just that, a fashion statement, not a functional advantage.
 
well if you get Benelli with comfortech stock, no much swing or recoil, possible disadvantage of goose and ducks, but that's about it
 
What kind of action? Are we talking a coach gun, or a defense shotgun like a Winchester Defender or 870 Security? I assume by your description smoothbore, screw in chokes and a bead sight.
 
As long as it's got removable chokes then the longer barrel shouldn't affect the pattern as much. It will make it slightly wider as the distance from the end of the barrel to the target is slightly longer.

I used one of corwin's 20" backpackers last season for rabbits and grouse and didn't find much of a difference between it and my old full length single shot if I use the same choke, but it is usually in thicker stuff, with fairly short shots, so anything lighter/smaller is ideal for busting through the bushes.

If I were duck hunting though and shots were farther than a few yards and faster/moving targets that's more when the swing of the gun, longer sight radius, etc come more in to play and you will definitely notice a difference.
 
If it's got chokes I see no reason not to use it on deer, turkeys and other ground animals. But it will be much more challenging wing shooting.

However, it can be done with practice. I've seen some guys really hammer the clays with short shottys. Still not ideal.
 
I used 18.5 barrel 870 to take out a coyote problem on family property. With #4 buck, end of problem.

I took the ammo I planned to use to the range before hand and tested a variety of chokes and ranges against the patterning board. Mod choke gave the best results for me, found that the shot pattern was a bit high so I knew to adjust accordingly.

I've took out a tasty rabbit with the same gun while camping. Had an open choke and slugs in case of bear and some target loads in my pocket going to shoot cans. Saw a bunny up the trail, had enough time to dump a slug and swap in the target load and catch him on the run. Lucky timing, lucky shot I doubt this is the preferred method of rabbit hunting.

My main shotgun hunting is for ducks. I use an 870 Wingmaster with 28in barrel, same configuration I use for trap. Its what I'm comfortable with.
 
I've hunted quite a bit with shotguns and personally the only use I have for 18.5" bbls is for slugs.

Any kind of "shot", big or small, is going to do way better with longer barrells.

Chokes do help, but a barrell length is still critical IMO.

For small game and upland game hunting I prefer around 24" bbls and for waterfowl I prefer 28" or even longer. Chokes as tight as a shooter's skill will allow.
 
Denka said:
I had here a discussion with my bud about hunting with 18.5'' shotgun, any type of game - deer, turkey, duck, geese, etc. I say you can and it might affect shot pattern, but still will get job done.

Anyone else here thinks same?
Click to expand...

The degree of choke affects pattern dispersion, barrel length affects velocity. Back boring a barrel will have a more positive effect on patterns than simply choosing a longer barrel, but two barrels, even from the same manufacturer, will pattern differently with the same choke and ammo. The choice of shot size also has an affect on pattern dispersion, larger shot often patterns tighter than smaller shot at the same range. The advantage a long barrel has is the possibility of improved balance, and a longer sight radius; both of which are conditions beneficial to shotgun marksmanship.
 
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