Small shotgun for bear defense
- Thread starter Skogkatt
- Start date
- Location
- Lloydminster, Alberta
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
I think MRP is referring to a pistol grip only, not a full stock with a pistol grip. Nothing wrong with the full stock and PG version at all.
rajczak_kashka
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Surrey, B.C.
Yes either tac 14 or shockwave 590 the best non restricted choices for your application.
At 21.5" and with 8 rounds of 2 3/4", there's no need to reload, but you do have to pump it. The Integral Flashlight might help with nighttime encounters....
Until it double-feeds and you have to pull the thing apart to clear it. Maybe they have fixed that in the 8 years since I had mine but I couldn't dump my KSG fast enough...
- Location
- Blaster land, Okanagan BC
I don’t know if I agree with that, the angle on the birds head is the same as the grip on a full stock so there’s not much difference there. An actual pistol grip, sure. The only thing you need to get used to is exaggerating the push pull grip technique, a longer forend helps as well to get more extension on the push. More stand off between the end of the birds head grip and your face is a good thing and it helps with a better sight picture/sight alignment as you have no stock to get a cheek weld, full power buckshot and slugs require a good solid grip and some stand off.
I’d say it’s pretty transferable in the same way that learning to shoot a pistol well makes you a better shooter with a long gun, the fundamentals are the same. If you can master them on the more difficult of the two you’re miles ahead on the other.
Firing a shockwave for the first time is a little bit scary, you would need enough practice to be comfortable for bear defense. After a couple of rounds I got the hang of it, but some folk seem to have trouble with it. So maybe not great as a shared camp gun. I do have a bullpup pump gun, but it is a fair bit bulkier than the shockwave.
I see what you're saying about the hand positions, and I think you're right that a longer forend makes a lot more sense than the one it comes with. Ultimately, if it was lighter I probably would have spent more time trying to make it work. It was just too close in spec to my full-stock 12" 870 to warrant a permanent spot on the rack (given how much harder it is to shoot well).
It is a very intimidating firearm if you're not used to it. I don't think the recoil is bad at all, standard 2 3/4 slug and buck were a non issue in short strings. I'm not particularly strong, but for those with less grip strength I could definitely see it. It's clearly not for the casual user.
- Location
- Blaster land, Okanagan BC
It’s definitely a technique to shooting them, that said I put a full buttstock back on mine as it’s more of what I prefer out of a shotgun. The longer field stock forend on it makes a world of difference in ergonomics while shooting it comfortably, I originally had a synthetic police forend on it and it was too short to get a good solid grip on it. My hand was hanging half off towards the action, not ideal.
I'd like to see a 14" birdshead Shockwave come from the factory with the longer forend and a standard profile barrel (instead of the A1 profile).
If y'all haven't seen this guy, still blows my mind. He's got several videos on dialing the birdshead shotgun technique (LuckyGunner has some, too):
If y'all haven't seen this guy, still blows my mind. He's got several videos on dialing the birdshead shotgun technique (LuckyGunner has some, too):
I'm just not looking for any kind of novelty item or strange new design under 'menacing bear' circumstances, and I don't care how much I got to practice with the thing. Unless it was weightless alloy and folded up and fit in my pocket I guess.
Two other things that help a lot with the Tac-14 or the Shockwave .....
1.) Something to make the bird's head grip less slippery. Some people wrap it with hockey tape ..... I used a piece of bicycle tubing that I slid over it. This made a huge difference for me. Before my middle finger got always slammed into the trigger guard under recoil. And that did hurt ....
2.) And second a hand sling (3 fingers) that transfers the recoil directly into your arm makes a big difference ....
And as Butcherbill mentioned a longer forend ... I can attest ... it makes a difference as well.
1.) Something to make the bird's head grip less slippery. Some people wrap it with hockey tape ..... I used a piece of bicycle tubing that I slid over it. This made a huge difference for me. Before my middle finger got always slammed into the trigger guard under recoil. And that did hurt ....
2.) And second a hand sling (3 fingers) that transfers the recoil directly into your arm makes a big difference ....
And as Butcherbill mentioned a longer forend ... I can attest ... it makes a difference as well.
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Do you not test your firearms for reliable function before heading out into the woods? My first full-size KSG 14+1 shotgun was utterly reliable with 2 3/4" shells, so there's that to counter your "lemon" KSG experience. People wouldn't keep buying the KSG's if they did not work, so I highly doubt that your experience was typical of most KelTec shotguns...
Yes, I do. That's how I found out it would double-feed. If it were a matter of being a lemon it wouldn't have been so easy to find so many others with the same problem. You seem to be a bit offended at the trouble I had, get over it. Kel-Tec is not a quality brand and the fact it's relatively popular doesn't change that. The popularity lies in the novelty of most of their designs. I have owned everything they sell in Canada, often more than once and didn't bother keeping any of it. Having one blow up in my face after 4 rounds was the final straw.
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Indeed. No firearm design is immune to malfunction. And every mass-produced firearm run yields some lemons, regardless of manufacturer. If you want QC to catch them all, then it costs.
But you'll never convince a hater. And it's a waste of time trying to reason with person who makes decisions based on anecdotes.
The KelTec brand clearly isn't for everyone. If the idea of lower QC being countered by lifetime warranty doesn't work for you, then you should probably look elsewhere.
