Shotgun Advice

[SJB358]

Great info fellas.

As for the 3.5" vs a 10 gauge. I was sort of in the same mindset till I started shooting the 3.5" Winchester Supreme 00 Buck from my buddies SX3. It runs at 1450FPS and delivers 15 pellets into about 18" at 50 yards from his standard Full choke. Plus the shotgun is light enough to carry all day. 10 gauges aren't so nice.

I wouldn't use the 3.5" stuff for everything but they offer a lot for deer and also for turkeys in some cases. I'm not really gunning for geese either but it'd get used for predator hunting as well.

Plus, while other shotguns would probably work better for other sorts of hunting, I'd rather just buy one and buy more rifles.

 

[Europe]

Great info fellas.
Plus, while other shotguns would probably work better for other sorts of hunting, I'd rather just buy one and buy more rifles.

Then, that is exactly what you should do. Some dont like these shotguns, others do, to be honest they are not my cup of tea. But you can hunt deer and turkey with them and do so for 600 or less. You are not really looking for a shotgun, but a gun that lets you hunt deer during shotgun only season and if you get a chance to hunt turkey, that works too. You have no desire to shoot clays, geese, pheasant or impress anyone with an expensive shotgun.
The Remington 870 express combo will do what you want to do at a price that will let you get that next rifle that you want sooner rather than later.

But if you ever decide to become a shotgun enthusiast, let me know and I will send you to a company that makes good shotguns (-;

 

[SJB358]

Will do A. I'm a shotgun hack... A nice shotgun and me in the woods would be about like taking a Bugatti elk hunting!!

 

[DrMike]

Will do A. I'm a shotgun hack... A nice shotgun and me in the woods would be about like taking a Bugatti elk hunting!!

The analogy is delightful, Scotty. Remind me to tell you someday of the time I took a new Jaguar fishing on the Skagit River. Hey, a man's gotta' do what a man's gotta' do. :grin:

 

[Africa Huntress]

Jim and Scotty

Mom and Dad left last night for Argentina to look at property for my dad's future cattle ranch, so hopefully mom will not see this. But if you never hear from me again, you will know she did.

Our entire family were bird hunting several years ago and mom kept shooting and missing. At one point she got mad and threw her shotgun in the direction of the birds she had just missed.

Dad is a man of very few words. So in typical fashion, for him, he walked over and picked up the shotgun, wiped it off, reloaded it, handed it back to her and said "your shooting under them" and walked on down the field.

My sisters and I had to turn away from mom so she would not see that we were all biting our lips to keep from laughing.

Best Regards

Jamila

Dr Mike, that sounds like a story that needs to be told sir

 

[DrMike]

Hilarious, Jamila. You mean she didn't even hit one of the birds when she threw the shotgun? That reminds me of an erstwhile hunting partner who decided to shoot a ruffed grouse with his .303 Lee Enfield. The grouse was standing about ten feet from him when he shouldered his rifle. He pulled the trigger and came back out of battery. The bird blinked and looked rather bemused. Larry quickly chambered another round, shouldered the rifle and shot to finish the bird. The bird never moved, but only cocked its head and looked rather perplexed. Larry didn't have another round in the magazine, so he took out his hunting knife and threw it at the grouse. As the blade whizzed past its head, the grouse cocked its head the other direction and very deliberately turned and strode into the bush. Larry's only comment was, "Well, I know he's deaf, at least."

Consequently, the Jaguar story is not nearly as humorous as the nice Mercury Cougar that went four wheeling--not once, but twice. The first time only cost me two tires and three wheel covers. The second time cost me a lot of grief as I punctured the gas tank. But why spend all my time talking only about the good times.

 

[big rifle man]

Jamila, I never threw a shotgun at them but there many times I thought the birds were either wearing bulletproof vests or the ammunition manufacturers played games with me and loaded the shells with blanks.

 

[Europe]

Hilarious, Jamila. You mean she didn't even hit one of the birds when she threw the shotgun? That reminds me of an erstwhile hunting partner who decided to shoot a ruffed grouse with his .303 Lee Enfield. The grouse was standing about ten feet from him when he shouldered his rifle. He pulled the trigger and came back out of battery. The bird blinked and looked rather bemused. Larry quickly chambered another round, shouldered the rifle and shot to finish the bird. The bird never moved, but only cocked its head and looked rather perplexed. Larry didn't have another round in the magazine, so he took out his hunting knife and threw it at the grouse. As the blade whizzed past its head, the grouse cocked its head the other direction and very deliberately turned and strode into the bush. Larry's only comment was, "Well, I know he's deaf, at least."

Consequently, the Jaguar story is not nearly as humorous as the nice Mercury Cougar that went four wheeling--not once, but twice. The first time only cost me two tires and three wheel covers. The second time cost me a lot of grief as I punctured the gas tank. But why spend all my time talking only about the good times.

Dr. Mike

your friend might have been a bad shot ( in this one instance ) but his "wit" was spot on

I have also said to myself--I can drive through there--only to find out I could not

 

[SJB358]

J, now that is my kinda lady. I'm probably as effective as your mom. I will give it a heckuva try though!

 

[DrMike]

Dr. Mike

your friend might have been a bad shot ( in this one instance ) but his "wit" was spot on

I have also said to myself--I can drive through there--only to find out I could not

Yeah, he had a good sense of humor. I caught a steelhead when he was with me one afternoon. As he watched my line ripping out and across the river, he casually asked, "How do you get those rocks to roll across the river that fast?"

 

[Bruce Mc]

My dad and I were quail hunting back in the 60s, I think I was around 12 or 13 at the time. I was having a very bad morning. I think I had gone through a box if shells and only had two birds. The blue quail were just kicking my but that morning. My dad killed his limit by about 10 am. We went back to the camp and sat around till mid afternoon. He offered to help me take my limit but that was just insulting, ya know. The first covey we came across were moving in the brush and I fired off three quick shots from my 20 gauge 1100. My dad chastised me for shooting three shots and asked what the heck I was doing. I responded that the first two shots were just clearing the brush, the third was to kill the bird. I walked over and picked up four birds and finished up the afternoon shooting ten straight. My dad never let me forget nor would he miss an opportunity to retell the story.

 

[DrMike]

That is just hilarious, Bruce! Excellent story. It was dove that kicked my backside!

 

[big rifle man]

Doc, you would be amazed at what ducks (especially teal) can do to you.

 

[DrMike]

Funnily enough, I've never been duck hunting. I say I'm going goose hunting every fall, but the plan is interrupted by moose and elk.

 

[Darkhorse]

I bought a Browning Maxus Special Purpose as my retirement present several years back. The Maxus and the SX3 are very similar if not the same thing with different badges.
The "Special Purpose" is a 3.5" chambered 26" barreled shotgun. It comes with a drilled and tapped receiver if you want to mount an aimpoint or turkey scope. It also comes with a set of fiber optic sights which work well. The fiber optics are not permanent but you put them on if needed. A extra full choke is also included.
This is a synthetic, camo stock.
Most important it comes with a set of shims to help fit the gun to you. Mine seems very close after going through the self fitting drill.
I have used this shotgun for doves with field loads and ducks with 3" mag loads and turkeys with 3.5" loads. So far it's worked perfect with all. In fact having a 3.5" receiver has been a non issue as I never think about it.
Pretty good trigger for an auto shotgun also.
http://www.browning.com/products/catalo ... 11&tid=659

 

[salmonchaser]

Scotty
What you need is a drilling, double 12 over a 7 x 57; cover all the bases.

 

[baltz526]

I can see no reason not to buy the Winchester SX3 for your needs. If I did not already have perfectly good shotguns, It would be the top of my list. The only choice is which barrel and Stock set.

 

[highcotton]

Scotty- I have a SX3 and absolutely love it. It is the only shotgun I own, and does everything from turkey to ducks and even gets beat through the bushes chasing cottontails. I will admit, it has some trouble cycling light loads- but I would buy another one even knowing that. One of the better firearm purchases I have ever made. Just my $0.02.

 

[tjen]

If you are going to step into the shotgun world think down the road. For what you want to do you need two types, a Semi-auto or Pump for water-fowle, turkey, deer, and varmits, a 12 gauge 3" is all you need. And a good O/U like a Berretta/Browning for upland hunting. concider a 20 gauge for every thing up to and inclueding preserve pheasant.

I started with a 12 gauge 870 as an all purpose gun and it works great. I still use it for turkey and geese but no longer for south MI deer. I actual have a 12ga wing master 26" and a 870 camo 23". I only hunt deer in northern MI in rifle zone now days. Next was a Berretta Black hawk 20 gauge, then a Berretta SP3 28gauge and a SP1 410.

A good used B gun is a better choice than any of the in expensive o/u or SxS. I did buy a CZ ringneck 410 for $800 becuase I had a plastic double that shot those suction cup darts as a kid that is almost the same size. works very well out to 33 yards for quail grouse and rabbits (the 410).

 

[Vince]

I'm not a shotgunner but I like shooting them.

If you can only have one...a 3" autoloader with an aluminum receiver and a 28" barrel is not a bad choice. Light enough for upland work, fine for ducks and stuff, interchangeable chokes to stick the "XXXtra full" turkey choke into. I went with a Benelli M2 a few years back...picked it up NIB for less than dealer cost. It's been fine for everything I've asked of it.

I'd suggest that you really look into NOT getting a 3.5" chamber unless you're looking for a dedicated waterfowl gun ...and only then if you like to shoot geese.

The longer chamber tends to make handling a little clumsy and worse yet- makes cycling those great upland loads of 7/8oz shot somewhat problematic, particularly when filthy dirty. As a "do it all" piece, you'll shoot a heck of a lot more softball 7.5s than fire breathing 3.5" #2s. I thought really hard about a 3.5" gun before I bought mine and a shotgunning buddy of mine just put it this way- 3.5s string shot something terrible, if you can't kill it with a 3", you need a 10ga!

Great advice here.
Me, I'm not much of a blunderbuss shooter myself. I keep one for home defense and have one for rabbits, quail, ducks, and anything else I may want to pepper but I much prefer rifles.
I used an 870 in another life so that's what I stuck with for my fun stuff.

Vince

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk