Opinions on Single Shot Short Barrel Shotgun

[jonersmack]

I have been looking at a new single barrel shotgun for camping.

It seems there are a few options and wanted to know if anyone has a favorite.

The Dominion Arms Backpacker 1 or 2 seem to be decent choices. I have seen Sinsinati have interchangeable chokes.

Anyone have one they are particularly happy with?

 

[finstr]

Choke tubes seal the deal for me.

 

[Ganderite]

I used to carry one in my airplane survival kit. It was a Cooey, cut back to 20". Cost me $50 at a gun show. I had some 12 ga flares for it, plus bird and buckshot. The fact that the barrel comes off so easy makes it great for packaging or packing.

 

[zuke]

I used to carry one in my airplane survival kit. It was a Cooey, cut back to 20". Cost me $50 at a gun show. I had some 12 ga flares for it, plus bird and buckshot. The fact that the barrel comes off so easy makes it great for packaging or packing.

Same here. Picked up a 12ga Cooey with a blowed up barrel for a pizza. Cut it cleaned it painted it and it was done. Put on sight's 20 year's later and repainted it. Side mounted sling for a more comfortable carry

 

[jonersmack]

I think chokes might be the way to go.

Any opinions on internal external hammer?

 

[jonersmack]

Westrifle sells one branded Armed. I am belive almost all theses are made by the same people, just with different options.

 

[jeffreyguy]

Ive got a dominion arms jw68 backpacker with the 13" barrel. Its been good but I would appreciate having removable chokes.

 

[Tom E Gun]

I briefly owned one of each: 12 Ga DA Backpacker and 12 Ga Sinsinati with interchangeable chokes. To put it bluntly, they were both junk (in my opinion). I now have a 12 Ga H&R Survivor (cut down to 18.5"). The quality of the H&R is 3-4x better than the previously mentioned shotguns. A nice used H&R will run you about $50 more than a new DA or Sinsinati, but it is money well spent.

H&R

Here it is with the DA:

 

[FLYBYU44]

I had a Sinsinatti with the 13" barrel. When hunting I don't like wearing earplugs and even with target loads it was stupid loud. Also at under 5lbs it kicked like a rented mule. But workmanship wise I thought it was built pretty decent for the price.

 

[jonersmack]

I briefly owned one of each: 12 Ga DA Backpacker and 12 Ga Sinsinati with interchangeable chokes. To put it bluntly, they were both junk (in my opinion). I now have a 12 Ga H&R Survivor (cut down to 18.5"). The quality of the H&R is 3-4x better than the previously mentioned shotguns. I used H&R will run you about $50 more than a new DA or Sinsinati, but it is money well spent.

H&R

Here it is with the DA:

I never considered the H&R. Might be a solid choice.

 

[0faustus0]

+ 1 for a used H&R single shot .... they are nothing fancy ....but solid and reliable guns .... a workhorse ....

 

[nomad 68]

Had a DA backpacker once. There is good reason they are so cheap.

 

[LarryG]

The backpackers are a rough made lot. But they work alright for the most part.

That said for the same money, Corwin's hammered sinsinati's are much better, with vented ribs, better wood and an actual finish, plus the threaded chokes work pretty well. The worst part for me is that the short barrel versions generally don't point where the guns shoot (they all seem to have the same slope vs the barrel, so that is to be expected), but you can compensate for that in a few different ways and practice in particular. The stock trigger runs around 8lbs: not great not terrible. They also can pinch you with that sliding trigger guard feature.

Only the hammerless sinsinatis single I had was a disappointment, due to the 12 lb trigger and unreliable safety. That one went back.

 

[Woody-to]

Had a DA backpacker once. There is good reason they are so cheap.

I've had 3 pass through my hands. All 3 were a bit different. The oldest one I bought used from a member here, the barrel was almost twice as thick as the others. Must have been different production runs. The last batch was crap!

 

[dand883]

I've tried a few of Corwins Warrior single shots, they were from before the newer sinsinati.

For what they were they worked well enough. Personally I went with 20ga so it wasn't quite so violent on the shoulder. I had the 20 inch barrel and I found it pointed pretty decently for me, but I can see the 13" ones being a little tougher to aim, and you don't really gain much since the longest part in the stock, it's not until you get to 18-20ish inches that the barrel is the longest part.