shotgun edjumication!

Mr. Friendly

Mr. Friendly

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I'd like to learn about shotguns some...in particular for bird hunting, maybe rabbit hunting. appropriate gauges for different game, chokes used on different game, etc etc.

also, a quick question about the Dominion Arms Grizzly 12.5". I know that it's non-restricted because that's how it's comes from factory, but can you drop the full stock and put a pistol grip on it and keep it non-restricted? I recall something called the '30-day rule' in reference to a non-restricted firearm going restricted but being able to go back to non within 30 days or something?

your clarification is appreciated! :D
 
Shotguns are fun, that's really all there is to know. As for the rest, all you gotta do is take her to the range and pattern her with different types of ammo and chokes at various ranges so you can learn it's limitations .... I usually run your garden-variety Cylinder choke on my 18" 870 and it does the job quite well for clay pigeons, I've never hunted with it though but if I was to hunt with it I'd take the "Improved Cylider" choked barrel since it has an ever-so-slightly tighter pattern .... Oh, and try to limit your shots to under 25yds, I know people who push farther, but you shot patterns tend to get mighty thin past that range.
 
what are some good yet inexpensive starter shotguns? I do want to try trap/skeet so I can ensure I can hit what I'm aiming at, but I was thinking almost how perfectly a DA Grizz 12.5" would make out to be a short and light carry all gun for hiking n exploring when hunting isn't the point. :)
 
I'd suggest a regular 870 Express, you can always get a shorter barrel for it and it remains NR, and you control when you get the extra expense of a 2nd, shorter barrel.

Mr. Friendly said:
what are some good yet inexpensive starter shotguns? I do want to try trap/skeet so I can ensure I can hit what I'm aiming at, but I was thinking almost how perfectly a DA Grizz 12.5" would make out to be a short and light carry all gun for hiking n exploring when hunting isn't the point. :)
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I would recommend the remy 870 express supermag combo. You get a great shotgun along with a long multichoke barrel and a short rifled slug barrel. All options are open.

Ultimately your choke choice depends on what your hunting, what distance your shooting at and how it patterns on your gun and how well you shoot. There is no theroy that beats practice. My expericne with 12 ga. is that when shooting goose or turkey, you might need a tighter choke for distance and more pellets on target. Clays can make good use of medium chokes. light chokes are good for bunnies and birds things that are close and fast.
 
An 870 is an 870, doesn't matter at all which barrel you end up using, all of them will fit your receiver. I shot with long barrels, and with short barrels, the thing is that shotguns have no rear sight, so a longer barrel <may> make things a tad easier, for some. I've gotten used to my 18" barrels, and get good results with them.

Mr. Friendly said:
does a Grizz 870 have the capabilities of running with a longer barrel for bird hunting? from what I've read, you want a barrel that's at least 27" long?
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A longer barrel will actually help you with wing shooting. It is nice to have that extra barrel mass to keep the gun flowing for a sustained lead, or pass through shot. The short barrels tend to get you in the mode of stopping the barrel after you pull the trigger, not good for hunting winged critters, as you will witness a lot of tail feathers coming off the birds.
 
'wing shooting' - does that refer to bird hunting or actually shooting the wings or something else?

what is the reason that shotguns don't have sights aside from the single bead on the end of the barrel? surely it would have been easy to include something to aid the accuracy...or is it a matter of pride?

is the 870 reasonable for goose/duck hunting?
 
Mr. Friendly said:
'wing shooting' - does that refer to bird hunting or actually shooting the wings or something else?
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Just refers to hunting winged creatures.

Mr. Friendly said:
what is the reason that shotguns don't have sights aside from the single bead on the end of the barrel? surely it would have been easy to include something to aid the accuracy...or is it a matter of pride?
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You don't really aim a shotgun, you point it. Kind of like taking your finger and "pointing" it at an object. you really don't have to sight down the length of your finger to "know" that it is pointing at the object. A second bead on a shotgun is there, to make sure the shooter has his/her head properly mounted to the stock of the shotgun, more of a handicap on most meat guns as far as I am concerned, but I am sure there are more than a few trap shooters on this board that will argue with me on that point.


Mr. Friendly said:
is the 870 reasonable for goose/duck hunting?
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Many, many, many hundred's of thousands of geese/ducks have fallen to the 870. I try and do my part every year:D I like it, cause it shoots everything that I feed it, is easy to maintain, and doesn't ever let me down, unlike many of the auto loaders out there. I throughly clean mine once a year, other than that, it gets a quick wipe down, and put back in the safe, until the next canoe trip with my dogs walking all over it, or I set it down in the mud. A greater shotgun has never been conceived, IMHO:D
 
Mr. Friendly said:
does a Grizz 870 have the capabilities of running with a longer barrel for bird hunting? from what I've read, you want a barrel that's at least 27" long?
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Here in NZ we mainly do bird hunting, namely ducks, geese and pukeko ( a native ) .. i use a 26" barrell.. and its fine, a friend of mine has a 24" .. i also have a 22" .. as long as it has interchangable chokes you'll be fine.
i use the .Mod choke for game birds with steel shot . and improved cylinder for buckshot . im told you can use improved cylinder for slugs, but i prefer open cylinder for piece of mind

as someone said earlier - shotguns are fun .. thats the 1st and best reason to buy one
 
okay then, the 870 seems to be the focus. is there any particular manufacturer that does a really good job on an 870 with a reasonable price?

actually, that leads me to another question. if I were to buy the Dominion Arms Grizz 12.5" and get interchangeable barrels, it's legit at the 12.5" range. what about the other way around? buying something with a significantly larger barrel. would putting a 12.5" on it change the rules regarding the non-restricted/restricted rules?
 
Mr. Friendly said:
okay then, the 870 seems to be the focus. is there any particular manufacturer that does a really good job on an 870 with a reasonable price?
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You might try Remington. After all the 870 is a Remington product. One of the Combos might not be a bad idea.
 
Win/64 said:
You might try Remington. After all the 870 is a Remington product. One of the Combos might not be a bad idea.
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x2 Especially one of the nice Wingmaster models. 28" barrel, 3" magnum, screw in chokes about as close to perfection as you'll get in a pump gun.

The Expresses are very cheap and have a terrible finish that is prone to rust. The Chinese clone guns - you get what you pay for IMO. There are lots of used 870s around too.

What's your budget?

PS you might want to get out and try some clay shooting.
 
janesy said:
Remington is making those now too?
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Sure! Mine's a 2006 model.

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Lot's of used ones out there but most are fixed choke and 2-3/4". The receivers can be inexpensively upgraded to 3" and use screw in choke 3" barrels.
 
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