H+R Pardner + adapters = Fun

[kynardsj]

It's been a number of years since I hunted anything with a shotgun as 99.9% of my hunting is for deer and hogs and for this I use my rifle and/or one of my 45 LC pistols. Last year while piddling on the computer I started seeing more and more things about shotgun adapters. There were some nice videos on the Short Lane website with Dave Canterberry testing them and along with his thoughts about how versatile a 12 guage single shot was, I was hooked. I bought a new 12 guage Pardner and because I've owned 20 guage shotguns since I was a kid, still had the guns and a pile of shells, the first adapter was a 12ga to 20 ga. It worked great and shot a good pattern.  Then I bought the rifled 22 Pathfinder adapter. Front sight on the Pardner was kind of hard to see so at the same time I put one of the fiber optic snap on sights on it. This made a world of difference and after some load testing and seeing the adapter liked the plain jane Federal bulk rounds instead of the hyper velocity I was tearing up cans out to around 50 yards. Next because of me being a big fan of the 45 LC I bought the rifled Pathfinder version in that caliber. Did a lot of load testing with it yesterday morning and found the load it liked and just how it needed to sit in the shotgun. Again, cans out to 50 yards or so were in a lot of trouble. I wouldn't hesitate to hunt deer or hogs with this rig in thick areas where my shots were 50 yards or closer. Only other adapter I wanted was a rifled 38/357. Short Lane doesn't make one as of yet and the other companies that do are really proud of them. The non rifled version had some great reviews so I just ordered one of those for some close range plinking. Some folks don't care for the adapters and that's ok. I think it's a cool way of making one gun very versatile.

http://www.gunadapters.com/

[kynardsj]

I guess just to show how much I'm hooked on one gun doing multiple things, late last year I bought a set of six adapters that fit my 45 LC pistols and let me shoot 22's in them. They have polygonal rifling and to a distance of 8 - 10 yards are pretty accurate. They can't hang with my Single Six on accuracy but having them in my Vaquero sometimes is a hoot. I can have the feel of the big gun without a big reloading session at the end of the day. Oh yeah, thanks to the moderator for putting Short Lane's website on my first post. I had forgotten to add it.

[wolverine_1]

Inserts are fun.  I bought my first insert from "Shell Shrinker Inc." about 40 years ago to shoot .22 LR in a 12 ga.  They are no longer in business. A few months ago I got an 18" insert for the .45 ACP in a 12 ga. from MCA Sports/Ace Bullet Company, of Alaska.  It is fun to shoot, I did have to have have a friend ream a place to use my finger nail to get under the rim.  They make all kinds of inserts for lots of cartridges in lots of guns.  Have fun. 

[kynardsj]

I've looked at Ace's website and tried to contact him by email but have had no luck getting thru. He makes some calibers for a 12 ga that I haven't seen anywhere else. I guess I need to try the phone number listed on the website. I'm still wanting a rifled 38/357 insert to play with. My wife shot the Pardner with the 22 insert and besides being accurate, she had a ball. She said, "this big ole gun doesn't kick at all". I told her I could change all that if she wanted me to but I was just yanking her chain. The last thing I want to do is make her afraid of something I tell her doesn't kick.

[gjdykeman]

My 41 mag handy barrel is at the machine shop. I am using a 12g stub. At 26", the barrel will be cut to 18" leaving a 6" peice. That peice will be turned to be a 12g insert. Rifled insert 6" long. Rim cut to be ejected, Muzzleloader bullet starter to eject shell from insert. Would be really quiet in my old Stevens single shot. Just a project.