Shotgun question

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bobcajun

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Hello,
I have a question for some of you more knowledeable fellas there. I want to hunt geese and ducks, occassionaly, not full bore. So, I want a pretty cheap shotgun. I was looking at the Remington 870, I believe it is, for about three or four hundred dollars. But, I have an old Stevens double barrel from about 1925 or so. Although it is old, the gunsmith tells me that because it is a Stevens, it is not worth a lot. So, I wondered about having the barrels bored out so that it could shoot steel shot, and therefore be able to hunt waterfowl. What do you think is my best option? I'd appreciate any comment.
bobcajun
 
The better idea is to buy a new one, say you want a 870. The cost of gun smith is almost half of the price of a new shotgun and you lost a bit of history. Keep the Steven.

Trigun
 
Gently used, steel-compatible pump shotguns of various makes (Rem, Mossy, Win, etc) show up on the exchange all the time for decent prices.
 
"Gently used, steel-compatible pump shotguns of various makes (Rem, Mossy, Win, etc) show up on the exchange all the time for decent prices."
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I guess you guys are right. But, if you were to buy a used gun, how would you tell whether it is any good or not? Especially if you were buying it by long distance? I live in a large city and there are shotguns for sale in the buy and sell all the time, but Ihave hesitated to buy one, as I didnt know how to verify them. I am not all that familiar with shotguns, but a guy in a gunstore told me that sometimes shotguns get heated or don,t shoot right. I am not sure what he was getting at. How would you veryify a gun? By the way, for hunting geese would it really be necessary to have a gun that can handle 3" shells? Some people also tell me i'd be better off getting a cheap auto rather than a cheap pump, if I wasn't planning to use it all that much. Any ideas?
thanks Bobcajun
 
3" is nice for geese, but you can alter your hunting tactics if all you have is 2-3/4".

Your preference, pump or auto.

Never heard of this 'heated' comment.

Whether a gun works or not: you can ask specifically if it functions properly, and tell them you'll expect a refund if it doesn't. But pump shotguns are pretty durable things, so the chances are very slim that a half-way decent gun WON'T work properly. If it's local, you can have the owner show how it operates using Snap Caps or other safe substitute.
 
Some may have missed the point here....if you like doubles(the Stevens) by all means take it to a gunsmith and get him to open chokes for steel shot...the gun will not become collectors item and hunting with an old gun has a certain fulfilment to it, I could hunt with a modern 3 1/2" autoloader but I find it much more satisfying to use an old(safe) sxs, this year i bagged a goose with a Damascus barrelled, 2 1/2" chambered, hammergun, using blackpowder reloads, and #4 Bismuth shot. That goose was more satisfying than any other bird i've ever shot!!
 
Since it's a double barrel, you don't want any risk of a bulge as that can separate the barrels from the rib. I'd open it up to IC. $40/per side.

This also makes it a far more efficient upland gun.
 
"Since it's a double barrel, you don't want any risk of a bulge as that can separate the barrels from the rib. I'd open it up to IC. $40/per side.

This also makes it a far more efficient upland gun."

Someone mentionned the point is that I want to use the old double barrel. well, that is half the point, one barrel you might say, the other is that I am cheap.

Yeah, I like the idea of using the old gun. But, I am not, at least at the moment, a fanatical hunter. I won't be out there every day. I have simply grown frustrated in watching the geese fly at tree level over the cottage and not be able to do anything about it. I may hunt more later. But, right now, I just want to get some of those low-flying geese!

I went to Baron's today. ( I have been told that this store belongs to the brother of Le Baron's, who had once been partners and then split up). I looked at a Stoeger 2000, I believe for about six hundred dollars. It is nice. But, I don't like the idea of spending six hundred dollars, if I only use it one or two days a year.

I would be happy re-tooling the Stevens if I was sure that I was not destroying a valuable antique. For $40 per barrel, for my particular situation, that may be the best option. But, it is an old gun, with the exterior hammers, that is safe and nice to shoot, maybe even older than 1925. I'd hate to ruin something valuable., as I say.

Then, there is the other question: will it do the job? What about all those chokes that I hear people talking about? I don't think I could have one on the double.

At this moment I am quite confused, do don't hold back your comments fearing that you might muddle me with information. I have to work through this.
bobcajun
 
"open to modified choke"

"Since it's a double barrel, you don't want any risk of a bulge as that can separate the barrels from the rib. I'd open it up to IC. $40/per side. "

If I do decide to bore it out, I am not sure i know what these two suggestions mean.

bobcajun
 
Your gun has fixed chokes, not removable ones. Most likely Mod in one barrel and Full in the other. A gunsmith merely bores out the choke - opening it up - from Full, to Modified, or even more open Improved Cylinder. Most open of all is Open Cylinder (no choke at all).

Steel shot through a fixed Full choke barrel can create a small ring bulge just in front of the choke constriction. In a single barrel gun it's mostly cosmetic (but can on rare occassions split the barrel). On a double gun, that ring bulge could be enough to break the solder joint holding the barrels together to the rib.

To clarify more, steel shot does not need the same level of constriction to get a similar shot pattern as lead shot. Lead through a full choke could be similar to steel shot through Mod. And most people never should have been using a full choke anyway - they aren't good enough shots to take advantage of it. Myself, I shoot ducks and geese over decoys with both Open and Improved cylinder using steel shot. And then I use those same guns and choke but with lead shot for grouse.

Sorry for the jargon, we sometimes forget we're even doing it. And don't ever hesitate to ask somebody here to clear something up. We are all always learning something new. This is one of the best sites on the web for gun owners. The only problem belonging to this group is that your wallet is going to suffer.
 
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Thanks very much for the explanation about the chokes etc. It was very clear. I have come to a tentative conclusion and I thought I might run it by you along with the reasons, to see if anyone has any comment on any of the points raised. I'd appreciate comments, in fact, if you happen to have some thoughts.

1. Since not too much concerned has been expressed on this forum, and also from the gunsmith that I consulted, I assume that boring out the old Double Stevens is not a sacralige, or a foolish act.

2. And since even a new pump will cost me somewhere around three hundred and fifty, with tax, and an automatic somewhere around seven hundred, and boring out the Stevens will probably cost me somewhere around one hundred fifteen to twenty five with tax.

3. And since people tell me that it would really be worthwhile to have an automatic rather than a pump, so that you can keep a beed on the birds.

4. And since an automatic would cost considerably more than the pump

5. And since I can get pretty close to the benefit of the automatic with the double ( you can only have three shots in the auto, anyway, I believe), then,

6. It may be very well worth my while having it bored out, since it will match pretty closely to the most important characteristic of the auto but with an even lower price than the pump.

the only downside that I can think of is that it will not shoot 3" shells. But, I gather from reading a little on this forum, that you may not need that possibility.

As I say, I'd appreciate any comment. But, perhaps your fed up with all of this. My wife says that I get obsessive about trying to find the best solution to things. Sometimes it would just be easier to go out and buy something.

bobcajun
 
I'd go with the Stevens if your gunsmith makes the changes in choke and gives his thumbs up. Some 2 3/4" steel loads are as fast as 3" and with steel shot"speed kills", don't sweat the collectors angle, I don't believe any Stevens shotgun will be collectable and their value is in being a shooter!
 
I am inclined to think i will be going to go with the stevens. i forgot to mention in the previous post that I also like it. But, one more question, just to make sure. Are these old guns able to handle the new shells, which I gather are more powerful than previous shells?
 
I said in the previous post that that was the last question, but like our Prime Minister, I change my mind. here is another. If I open these barrels, can I also use the gun for slugs in order to hunt deer. I know that I won't be able to shoot anything too far away. But, it might be good to carry a few slugs with me when out after petit gibier, just in case I see a nice deer.
bobcajun
 
shotguns

I have found a pump to be more accurate than a semi-maybe something to do with the action of the pump itself but I have been able to outshoot several other shooters even when I was a novice (16-19). Also I think you will find a pump to be lighter and easier to carry than a double. I find the doubles barrel heavy dragging them around the bush.
 
"I have found a pump to be more accurate than a semi-maybe something to do with the action of the pump itself but I have been able to outshoot several other shooters even when I was a novice (16-19). Also I think you will find a pump to be lighter and easier to carry than a double. I find the doubles barrel heavy dragging them around the bush. "

I thought this might be the case, too, but when i hefted the pump and the double there didn't seem to be a heck of a lot of difference. ( That difference, for sure, might get magnfified if you were carrying it around all day). however, I have a shoulder strap and it doesn't seem to bother me much to carry it. Besides, I won't be carrying it too far. If I am lucky, just outside my front door when those Geese are going south:) . And perhaps a walk through the farmers field up behind. All open territory and easy to walk. thanks for the thought, though.
Bobcajun
 
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