Author Topic: shotgun (Read 3088 times)

pastorp · « **on:** April 12, 2009, 06:00:52 PM »

For a foraging weapon in brushy areas it's hard to beat a shotgun. I've heard Swampman refer to his 20ga single as a favorite tool for this. My personal favorite is a side by side. If one barrel will throw a slug to point of aim and the other a good shot pattern your all set for whatever comes along.

How about you guys, anyone like a shotgun for foraging?

Almtnman · « **Reply #1 on:** April 13, 2009, 03:17:25 AM »

I have several shotguns myself and have taken a few whitetail deer and a lot of doves with an old Browning A-5 that I have owned for years. I guess though that the shotgun that I use the most and favor is a youth model NEF single barrel 20 gauge. I bought it with the intention of having a short handy shotgun mounted on the handle bar of my four wheeler to dispense varmints and snakes while out scouting any new hunting areas. It's what I call my utility shotgun...I use t it to dispatch varmints that tries to get in my chicken pen at night and have killed a bunch of timber rattlers that got too close to my house with it. An old hunting friend of mine who is an avid turkey hunter used all sorts of shotguns for turkey hunting and got an NEF just like mine and now uses it as his favorite turkey gun. He told me that he likes it because it is short and he can swing it around for a shot fast at close range.

pastorp · « **Reply #2 on:** April 13, 2009, 04:41:25 AM »

Almtnman, I had a NRF 10 gague turkey gun years ago. It was heavy but well balanced. I really liked it. Regards,

spruce · « **Reply #3 on:** April 13, 2009, 05:58:34 AM »

I too favor my 20 ga. NEF youth model. Replaced the buttstock with an adult size and installed sling swivels on it. It's short, light, recoil is not bad, and has plenty of "power" for my purposes.

Works good for pest control around the yard and it's the one I usually have with me when I'm just "out and about". Can't argue with your choice of a double, but I just prefer the simpler, lighter single.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #4 on:** April 13, 2009, 07:21:58 AM »

Yep , like um .
the set up I like for what you decribe is a 12 ga. 870 20inch rifle sighted bbl with screw in chokes . most often it has a mod choke installed with a rifled tube along in the shell holder or in a pocket. A 20 would be lighter but offer the same ability to engage any target .

FLNT4EVR · « **Reply #5 on:** April 17, 2009, 03:06:22 AM »

For a foraging gun you will be hard pressed to beat the NEF 20 ga.Put a butstock shell holder on it and your good to go . 3 rnds of 3inch #4 shot , 1 rnd of buck , and a slug in the carrier keep it ready for just about anything that I would need a shotgun for.It's light ,handy,and plenty powerful.I keep mine in the car and it goes with me everywhere.

mannyrock · « **Reply #6 on:** April 17, 2009, 03:02:00 PM »

Yes, I've noticed that most 20 gauges with an improved cylinder choke will pattern #4 buckshot extremely well. Generally, they will cover up, but not exceed, a torso target at 30 yards.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #7 on:** April 20, 2009, 01:50:13 AM »

where do you find #4 buck for a 20 ga. ?

kebs · « **Reply #8 on:** April 29, 2009, 02:52:19 AM »

If I had to sell all my guns but one, my Mossberg 500 would be the one I keep. Slugs, Buck or birdshot. There is nothing in my State that I can not kill with that gun.

Yankee1 · « **Reply #9 on:** April 29, 2009, 04:15:53 PM »

Hello
I agree the shotgun is difficult to beat in most places. Where I live in Southern Oregon deer and game are plentiful. Myself I would prefer the bow and arrow because the bow does not spook the game in the area. I've been shooting a bow for 65 years and have gained proficiency with it.
We have turkey, Canadian geese, Elk as well as large numbers of Black tail deer.
This year I made a few wing bone turkey calls and tried them in my front yard and ended up with about forty turkey in my front yard. I live in the woods up in the mountains on a few acres of land and the area is alive with game.
When the salmon are in the river I've seen as many as a half dozen 50 pounders caught in four hours. I would use the shotgun for pheasant and rabbit if I was hunting them and the .22 for squirrel.
Yankee1

mannyrock · « **Reply #10 on:** April 30, 2009, 07:53:05 AM »

Sorry for expressing a different viewpoint, but unless you are shooting expensive slugs out of a rifled barrel with a good scope, the maximum effective distance of any shotgun shell is only about 60 yards, which is about the same distance as a grown man can hit a softball, or a college quarterback can throw a football. Way too short, in my opinion, for anyone to rely upon as a primary arm in any long emergency situation. Yea, it would be nice to have one, but its use is limited (except in a close urban environment.) In any such situation, I sure wouldn't be wasting shotgun shells trying to hit running rabbits, flying birds or jumping squirrels. I would use a .22 LR for this, and only take shots when they were standing still.

Just my thoughts.

Mannyrock

Almtnman · « **Reply #11 on:** April 30, 2009, 09:13:07 AM »

If a person can't get closer to game than 60 yards, then they are relying on range instead of hunting know how.

mannyrock · « **Reply #12 on:** May 01, 2009, 03:59:40 AM »

If a person can't kill game with a single well placed shot instead a spread of pellets, then they are relying on spray instead of marksmanship. :-)

Almtnman · « **Reply #13 on:** May 01, 2009, 07:44:56 AM »

Maybe you should start a topic about 22 rifles and how you prefer them as this topic was started about shotguns.

mannyrock · « **Reply #14 on:** May 02, 2009, 02:56:41 AM »

Dear Guys,

The original post concluded by asking the question: "Does anyone like a shotgun for foraging?"

My reply is no. I don't. I prefer a .22 lr. So my answers are well within the question of the original post.

Thanks,

Mannyrock

pastorp · « **Reply #15 on:** May 02, 2009, 07:25:14 PM »

Well Manyrocks you are entitled to your opinion. To me the main advantage with the 22 is the lighter weight of the ammo. But then I doubt you'll kill much beyond 60 yds with a 22. Personally I seldom shoot a shotgun more than 30yds. I prefer to get close.

Just as a point of interest I believe the calvary used shotguns to forage in the west and Lewis & Clark took along air rifles for that pourpose as well.

Regards,

Almtnman · « **Reply #16 on:** May 03, 2009, 03:24:38 AM »

Quote from: pastorp on May 02, 2009, 07:25:14 PM

Well Manyrocks you are entitled to your opinion. To me the main advantage with the 22 is the lighter weight of the ammo. But then I doubt you'll kill much beyond 60 yds with a 22. Personally I seldom shoot a shotgun more than 30yds. I prefer to get close.

Just as a point of interest I believe the calvary used shotguns to forage in the west and Lewis & Clark took along air rifles for that pourpose as well.

Regards,

Another interesting point is that, shotguns were the weapon of choice for the point man on patrols in Nam especially the Ithaca model 37.

jrfrmn · « **Reply #17 on:** June 14, 2009, 08:53:05 PM »

I just came across your post.
Do you take any visitor where you live?

Quote from: Yankee1
link=topic=170735.msg1098806330#msg1098806330 date=1241057753

Hello
I agree the shotgun is difficult to beat in most places. Where I live in Southern Oregon deer and game are plentiful. Myself I would prefer the bow and arrow because the bow does not spook the game in the area. I've been shooting a bow for 65 years and have gained proficiency with it.
We have turkey, Canadian geese, Elk as well as large numbers of Black tail deer.
This year I made a few wing bone turkey calls and tried them in my front yard and ended up with about forty turkey in my front yard. I live in the woods up in the mountains on a few acres of land and the area is alive with game.
When the salmon are in the river I've seen as many as a half dozen 50 pounders caught in four hours. I would use the shotgun for pheasant and rabbit if I was hunting them and the .22 for squirrel.
Yankee1

teamnelson · « **Reply #18 on:** June 14, 2009, 09:58:09 PM »

Stevens 94c 12ga with a shortened barrel, and a butt cuff with options including a chamber adapter for 357. But it's a luxury item in the survival armory. I'm not certain how long I could sustain it myself without a permanent residence and some reloading gear. economy of scale is a factor. At 50 yds that's a lot of lead, powder to get meat if something else would do.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #19 on:** June 15, 2009, 02:33:40 AM »

so far we have considered the shooter to be in good health . with sickness , injury or age the patteren offered by the shotgun may be a life saver . The shooter under those concerns may be unable to take good aim at food or attacker .

45-70.gov · « **Reply #20 on:** June 15, 2009, 03:06:03 AM »

Quote from: SHOOTALL on June 15, 2009, 02:33:40 AM

so far we have considered the shooter to be in good health . with sickness , injury or age the patteren offered by the shotgun may be a life saver . The shooter under those concerns may be unable to take good aim at food or attacker .

in a weakened state a single shot 20 may be the best

if healthy and strong anything should work

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #21 on:** June 15, 2009, 08:02:24 AM »

I was thing pump but you might be right

teamnelson · « **Reply #22 on:** June 15, 2009, 01:36:51 PM »

Dad suffered with MD for the last few years of his life. He had bought a tactical shotty pump 12 ga, kept it staged in a special case in his closet which he had set up as a safe room. When we went through the house after his funeral, there was a pile of stuff stacked in front of the case - the shotgun was as new, like the day he brought it home and put it in the case. His wife said he reached a point he couldn't rack the slide, so all the pumps and semis were stored away. Then he couldn't pull the hammer on a revolver (SA or trigger on a DA), so they got stored. The only thing out and in condition 1 was the 94C with a .44 in a chamber adapter. Well there was the SP101 in a holster on his chair, but the only thing he could pull on that was the button for the crimson trace laser.

The biggest man with a blown joint (hip, knee, elbow), exhaustion & diarrhea, might have a hard time operating some actions. Singleshot shotgun gives a lot of versatility, and its ambidextrous in case you loose the use of your normal shooting hand.

Badnews Bob · « **Reply #23 on:** June 15, 2009, 01:47:19 PM »

I really like my 20 ga NEF can't get much simpler or reliable, Don't feel the need for a 12. Yep fits me just fine.

Almtnman · « **Reply #24 on:** June 15, 2009, 03:53:28 PM »

I have one of those Mossberg 500 12 gauge 18.5 inch barrel shotguns that sits next to my bed all the time ready to go. But I guess my favorite shotgun is also a NEF 20 gauge. I have disposed of more varmints and Timber Rattlers with that little NEF than anything I have. I like it because it's simple to operate easy to use and sturdy and light and a box of shells doesn't cost an arm and leg. When I bought it I was looking for a NEF in 410 gauge until a Sheriff's deputy told me the 20 gauge would be better. I asked why and he told me that the 410 shells at the time were 10 bucks a box and 20 gauge shells were just under 4 bucks a box. I'm glad that deputy was in the gun store that day as what he told me was good info and I never regretted the decision to buy the 20 gauge. Mine is the youth model and I can put it in the gun rack across the handlebars of my four wheeler and it doesn't protrude past them which makes for a good gun to do any scouting on the four wheeler.

billy_56081 · « **Reply #25 on:** June 15, 2009, 03:58:45 PM »

A good shotgun with the correct load is first class for all game in North America.

don heath · « **Reply #26 on:** June 15, 2009, 08:14:24 PM »

During Rhodesia, a shotgun or a .22 was all Black folk could own without being a member of the army or police or having political friends in high places. Despite the huge difference in the price of the ammo, most rural folk wanting a gun bought a shotgun :- and not becuase they couldn't shoot - many were ex police, Army or National parks! The main reason was versitality and effectiveness. With a load of 000 (LG) buck you could take a lion feeding on your goats. With slug you could kill the buffalo that had taken over the water point, with a charge of No6 you could chase an elephant out of your corn crop ( many national parks officers used bird shot to scare off crop raiders rather than shooting them with a rifle.)

The most common quarry for rural farmers were bush pig and kudu raiding the crops at nigh, and a load of SSG (no 2 buck) was fine for either. During the day, baboons were the main problem, and then it was a matter of real hunting skills and getting close- and again SSG proved the shot size of choice.

Shotguns have never been popular for birds in Africa. A .22 is much prefered by those who could afford two guns or a trap or sling shot by those who owned a shotgun.

The main advantage of a shotgun is for defence. It is not nearly as good an 'offensive' weapon as people think. In the early days of 'shoot on sight' policy for poachers many of us started out using shotguns. We tried everything from No 4 to OOO. It was depressing how many took fatal hits but managed to fire at us or run away. Most of us went back to 7.62 or to 5.56 with HP. Defense though is a wholedifferent game, and I was mighty glad of my 10G during our *dissident' war (1982-87) when the odds were usually better than 10:1 against us.

SmokeEater2 · « **Reply #27 on:** June 17, 2009, 02:47:28 PM »

My truck gun/foraging gun is part shotgun anyway,It's a Savage .22 magnum/20 gauge over-under. For me it's perfect the shotgun barrel can be loaded with everything from slugs to light shot depending on what I'm hunting and the .22 magnum works fine for small game and has pretty decent range.

pastorp · « **Reply #28 on:** July 04, 2009, 09:08:37 AM »

Some keep bringing defense into this discussion. I guess we should define what is ment by foraging.

I agree that in a total breakdown of our society, where we are out living off the land a shotgun may not be the best gun. For me I believe a mini-14 along with a 22 revolver would be better. But for a pot gun while we are home based the shotgun excells. To me that is foraging.

Regards,

pastorp · « **Reply #29 on:** July 04, 2009, 11:59:57 AM »

Further thoughts on the forage question.

For those that have a remote cabin or something even more defendable where your cash of ammo is stored, the shotgun is a great choice for defense and foraging. Even if you roam out for days you can always return to your base to resupply. If you have no perminate base or even remote cashes then carrying ammo becomes problematic.

Brass cases and powder, primers, and shot will extend the length of time you could stay out between resupply, but it will never be as long between resupply as with a 22lr or even a 223.

I don't believe the shotgun takes the place of a rifle. But in the remote setting where supplies are cashed keeping a shotgun there makes a lot of sense.

Regards,