Free Republic

The shotgun is nothing new. The smoothbore musket was the weapon of choice in the 17th and 18th centuries (not rifles). Why? Because you can get any job done with the same gun. While the shotgun—and other weapons—have evolved since then, the shotgun still holds its own with a colorful variety of firearms, action types, and ammunition choices to suit any conceivable need. For the last hundred years, the pump action and semi-automatic design have reigned supreme, eclipsing their break-top predecessors namely the single shot and double barrel varieties. But the break-top guns are still around and still going strong,...

The new house is on the edge of Cape Henlopen State Park, just north of the boardwalk: three stories, six bedrooms, three fireplaces and an expansive view of the Atlantic Ocean. The new owners are Joe and Jill Biden, rich for the first time in their lives, thanks to a three-book publishing deal - two by him, one by her - that allowed them to purchase the $2 million vacation home in this beachiest of beach towns. Red, white and blue bunting hangs from the second-floor balcony. There's a small wooden sign, "A Promise Kept," over the entrance, and two...

At one time back in the day, inside most police cars were equipped with an M-870 shotgun. Then theres an odd ball patrolman with his AR-15 with .223 caliber. Which patrolman has the advantage? The logic behind the usage of an AR stems from situations where a firearm needed for greater range than a shotgun. So the debate begins, shotgun folks talk about having the knock down power to stop the fight with its 00 buck. AR’s with its high velocity and more firepower in terms of 20 rounds – 30 rounds magazine capacity. Using either firearm we can make...

 Image from theguardian.com: In this widely circulated image of Aisha Gombi Bakari, you can see the homemade revolving shotgun that she uses to hunt Baka Haram Islamic terrorists.  The lock up does not look impressive, but it will do for a small number of shots.  The cylinder is probably turned by hand. There are index cuts to make sure it is lined up with the barrel.  Aisha is supposed to be paid about $25 a month, but the payments are spotty.  An official has recently been indicted on embezzeling 1.8 billion dollars marked for anti-terrorism efforts. That might explain...

Can the smaller .410 shotshell be used in a .45/70 rifle? Is this true? What will happen if you do? Well, YouTuber The Emporium is taking on the experiment. Well, the shotshell fits in the chamber of this single shot .45/70 rifle. It will also fire, but with donut-shaped patterns due to the rifled barrel. Oh those case heads sure do bulge. In his last shot the firing pin actually pierced the primer. This shows us that you should not try this ever. Always only fire the cartridges or shells that are suggested by the manufacturer. See the 410 shotshell...

This hunter dropped a buck on the run with a quick shotgun blast. Check out this footage of a hunter in Norfolk County, Ontario, shooting a 12-gauge shotgun, make an incredible running shot on a big whitetail buck. Making that kind of running shot canÂ’t be easy, and thereÂ’s nothing like having a GoPro capture it all to remember it forever. In case anyone is wondering what he was shooting, this hunter Justin Walsh said: "I live and hunt in Norfolk County (Ontario). I was shooting a 12 ga. Remington 870 with the slug barrel, Winchester Super-X Sabot Slug...

When is a shotgun not a shotgun, according to U.S. gun laws? When it's the incredible Fostech Origin 12 SBV "Firearm." New for 2017, the Origin 12 SBV will not be restricted by the expected gun control laws, because it's technically 'not a shotgun. It doesn't have to be registered because of the fact that it is not intended to be fired from the shoulder. Gun control laws in general are absolutely a waste of time. Case in point: the absolutely brilliant Fostech Origin 12 SBV "Firearm." At first look without a closer examination this weapon looks like a NFA...

Don't let this happen to you! There are some really short guns in the world, and when you grab one with both hands, there is often a tendency to hold the gun farther forward than you should. In this short video, Hickock45 gives some good advice about shooting short barrel guns, as he demonstrates with a sawed-off 12 gauge shotgun. The cloud of meat (hot dog) spraying away from the muzzle could have been part of his finger, had he been less wise. Even for those of us who know better, this is a good graphic reminder of what not...

Disarm techniques have been taught to many law enforcement, military and in self defense courses. In the defensive tactics mindset, it is taught you never look for a disarm. If you do, its best to use your own firearm to disarm a bad guy. Disarms itself are accidental if not incidental. Disarms are not that complicated its a matter of determination and self preservation being the primary motivator. Watch as this security camera footage captures the tables turning on a would-be thief. See the footage here.

Would you think to bring a shotgun to bass fishing? Well this guy sure did, and with good reason. They give some great tips about filling your bird tags and hooking lunkers for anywhere you call home. The reason this guy wanted to bring a shotgun bass fishing was because of the cormorant bird. These 'water turkeys' frequent lakes where you can also find hungry pre-spawn bass. Although the shotgun worked well for the birds, the angler was using a Zoom 4? Lizard to lure in the pre spawn bass. The fisherman used a dragging technique to find where the...

Allegedly, according to the wikipedia page, the Winchester Model 1897 was a favorite in the American Military. So much so that the Germans in World War 1 called for it to be banned due to it causing “Undue suffering”. Even cooler than that, however, was its (alleged) preferred use: Shooting hand grenades! While in the trenches, they would keep a few soldiers skilled in Trap shooting, armed with these shotguns. When a hand grenade was tossed their way, the trap shooters were tasked with shooting them away from the trench while they were in the air. P-TING! I wonder, which...

Benelli's Montefeltro has made the journey from European novelty to the world's most respected repeating upland shotgun.In 1911, as John Browning was finalizing his semiautomatic pistol stateside, Teresa Benelli was helping her six sons invest in a small automotive repair shop in Urbino, Italy. The brothers did well with their business and eventually began building motorcycles, selling their bikes in the U.S. through Montgomery Ward catalogs. By 1967, the brand had earned enough capital to allow Giovanni Benelli to design and market semiautomatic shotguns, a byproduct of his love of hunting. Little did he know that the gun that bore...

Here's Jerry Miculek destroying Stage 8 at 3GN Southeastern Regional 2017 in Frostproof, FL. He kills it with a 56.53 time, thats under a minute running to different stations with multiple targets varying from 5 to 20 yards out with shotgun, AR and pistol. See the action here from 3GN.

The once-special fitting process is documented in this great old 1956 video. Most of us when buying a shotgun these days, would just shoulder one at the gun counter and decide if we like it. This incorrect way of buying a shotgun has cost us many missed shots and the feeling of buyers remorse after the fact. The correct way (the lost art of custom fitting) is to have a master shotgun fit the shooter with a special adjustable stocked shotgun. With his trained eye this gunsmith would measure what the fit should be. This method provided a quick way...

Little man rips this and all he has left to say is "I don’t know which is bigger, OO Buck or #2." Yeh, just a little kick and most kids his would end up on the ground, this boy leans back only to look at dad like, "Whoa, baby, that had some mustard on it!" This little tyke has some shooting chops on him with this rifle, a compact shooter with a gun probably taller than he is. He appears to hit his mark in the video, and probably gains a bruised shoulder in the process– which he appears to...

Here's a primer on shotgun chokes, Good stuff for the beginner or if it's been a while. Janis Putelis from the MeatEater crew presents a couple of short videos here, where he talks about the various shotgun chokes and patterning your scattergun. For the newbie, a shotgun choke purpose is to shape the spread of the shot in order to gain better range and accuracy. Chokes are implemented as either screw-in chokes, selected for particular applications, or as fixed, permanent chokes, integral to the shotgun barrel. See the rest of the shotgun article and video here.

Rockin 'n Rollin' with a Shotgun When it comes to rapid shotgun fire, this is just about as good as it gets! Never mind the XRAIL system that this guy is using on his shotgun. Shotgun fans out there will debate over a better system to use, like one of the comments below and that it has no real world application. (umm, fire power is a huge debate) But other than that, just the pure fun and excitement of shooting it on rapid is exhilarating, you can't argue that. This guy puts some mods (XRAIL System) to his shotgun in...

Browning's light and balanced A5 shotgun lets you to shoot the old 'gentleman's gauge' in a technologically updated package. As an aspiring curmudgeon (my wife might suggest that I'm already there), I frown disapprovingly when I hear that someone is remaking a classic. Be it a movie, a song or a firearm, some things are just so iconic that you simply shouldn't mess with them. If you do, you'd better get it right, or you'll catch hell from people whose hearts were captured by the original. Sadly, and all too often, "new and improved" translates into "new and cheapened and...

I just bought a Mossberg Maverick 88. I have a heat shield from a Mossberg 500 coming as well as a side saddle. I would like to purchase a scabbard but have no clue which one to choose and if scabbards can support a long gun with a 6-shell side saddle. Anyone have any suggestions?