Short barrel (18.5") for duck/grouse?

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rotncore

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Hello,

I'd love to get a short tac shotgun, but I'd also like to take it hunting on occasion. Can I still use the short barrel with birdshot (I suppose groups would open?) somewhat effectively, or would I need to buy an additional longer barrel?
 
The choke affects the pattern, not the barrel length......the short barrel tends to make the gun not point or swing as good. If the targets are aerial you would probably shoot better with a longer barrel, however long the barrel is, there is no substitute for practice. Go out and shoot a few hundred claybirds, that should tell you how the short barrel will work for you.
 
The open choke part is good for grouse, and ducks over decoys. It's the rest of the gun that's not particularly suitable. There's a reason why most wingshooting guns don't look like 'tactical' shotguns - they are each designed for very different dynamics. A tactical shotgun is meant to be used more like a rifle and a pistol; fast movement in close quarters, and then STOP the gun very quickly to fire on the target. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

A wingshooting gun, on the other hand, is meant to keep swinging through the target or at the very least maintain some momentum for a sustained lead. A short barreled gun which is easy to start and stop requires lots of concentration and practise to maintain that lead.

Form follows function. Don't just look at a slim English-style side by side shotgun and assume it was built for aesthetic reasons only. There is hundreds of years of wingshooting experience built into those guns for a reason.

Yes, you can use a tactical shotgun for ducks and grouse. Just beware of it's limitations.
 
pattern it so you know it's limitations on water fowl and use it till you can afford another barrel. ($100). It will be great for grouse as is.
 
My dog is getting grouse to wing at 15-35 yards, and I'm not hitting anything with my 20" Mossberg cylinder bore, which I had great hopes for in the close country. Actually, I'm not hitting rabbits either. I can hit clays reasonably well with it, but I hear Grouse Man on the swinging vs point with the short gun. I'm having a hard time hunting with it.

I bought it because I thought it would be handy, which it is, but I'm about one gameless walk away from pulling out the O/U again. Again, I'm probably a large part of the problem. But I did a heck of a lot better before I started using it.
 
Your best option, and the cheapest, is to buy a make of shotgun that offers both style of barrels, such as the Remington 870 or the Mossburg 500. That way you can get the gun with a short barrel now, and pick up a long barrel later for hunting.

I don't know about shooting ducks in Canada, but here in Nfld, you normally won't get close enough to get a good shot with a short barreled gun. Must be that Newfie ducks are smarter.
 
ben hunchak said:
The choke affects the pattern, not the barrel length......the short barrel tends to make the gun not point or swing as good. If the targets are aerial you would probably shoot better with a longer barrel, however long the barrel is, there is no substitute for practice. Go out and shoot a few hundred claybirds, that should tell you how the short barrel will work for you.
Click to expand...

Yup.......you are soooo right!!!! I've got one with a 22" barrel and works and swings nice.....but have a 20" and is real "whippy"....every gun is different....:)
 
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