A shotgun and other gun questions. [vanity]

July 6, 2010

[bjorn14]

I have come to realize that FReepers know more about guns than any group of people on the planet. So here goes.

Do you I need a special kind of shotgun that will take slugs (i.e. rifle-bore)?

Any recommendations for a .22LR semi-auto rifle for varmints and small game (14+1 or better)

Thanks you guys are the best.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

My favorite shotgun is a 12 ga WARDS SLUGSTER made by Mossberg. Non rifled barrel.

My favorite .22 auto is a Remmington Nylon 66. Super accurate! Remmington doesn’t make them anymore. Check pawn shots for this one. Get one with the magazine in the butt stock.

[LouAvul]

For your semi-auto 22: Ruger 10/22 w/aftermarket magazine. No contest.

Re shooting slugs out of a shotgun: no, it doesn't have to be a rifled barrel, but keep in mind you're talking shorter ranges. Shotguns don't normally come with a very good precision sighting system. Mine came with a single bead sight at the end of the barrel. Two beads if I'm lucky.

If you're serious about slug hunting w/a shotgun, you would do well to buy a shotgun dedicated to that purpose. Or something that converts from one (upland bird hunting which is a longer barrel for "pointing" vs "aiming") to the other (a more precision shooting barrel).

That's the Remington 870 Express Combo

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

I’m still using my 30+ year old 1100. Got a slug barrel, a trap barrel, a skeet barrel and a goose barrel, and another that’s ahhhh, somewhat shorter. Works for me!

[Vendome]

That’s great....

Now you started a thread for all the “Know it All’s and soon their cousins the “Know Everything’s” and their neighbors the “Have an Opinion ‘bout everythings” will be showing up.

I’d help you but my reference library of armaments fell over board, into the Monterey Bay, while I was cleaning my guns and gutting fish...

[lurk]

If you’re looking to burn a brick of bullets in an hour, the Ruger 10/22 is the gun, with available 25-round banana magazines. Spend 45 minutes thumb-loading the mags, and 2 minutes emptying them.

If you’re looking for a super sweet, perfectly balanced .22 that can mount a scope and pick a flea off a squirrel’s nose from 75 yards, the Remington tube-feed 552 Speedmaster is the gun.

[FateAmenableToChange]

I have come to realize that FReepers know more about guns than any group of people on the planet.

Wrong. We have more opinions about guns than any other group of people on the planet, but you have to realize that some of those opinions are in fact anti-knowledge. Consequently, when you put knowledge and anti-knowledge together in the same thread, the result is potentially catastrophic. In particularly egregious situations, you may leave a thread dumber than when you went in.

[FateAmenableToChange]

...but not this thread, of course. (ref. post 26)

The answers above are already great — a Ruger 10/22 will work on any varmint (although coyotes will likely take a while to keel over), and a mossberg or rem 870 smooth bbl 12ga will work for virtually any situation.

[E.Allen]

Any shotgun can shoot slugs, but when I put a rifled choke in my Rem 870 I get better groups at 100 yds than without it at 50 yds.

[DCBryan1]

(although coyotes will likely take a while to keel over)

Not if you pony up for one of these ;)

Norrell Trigger Pack

[mbynack]

I bought my 10/22 brand new for around 40 dollars.

[mrmeyer]

A Mossberg 590 has a smoothbore that will fire buckshot or rifled slugs. The Ruger 10/22 is a great semi-auto but can be finicky with certain brand ammo resulting it failures to eject, feed, stovepipes, etc. Marlin makes a bolt action 981T that has a tubular magazine that will hold 25 Short, 19 Long or 17 Long Rifle cartridges. It is very accurate and you will be able to buy it and get a scope with rings for less than what the 10/22 alone will cost you. I bought the marlin because the 10/22 does not cycle shorts or cb caps.

I own the mossberg, ruger, and marlin myself.

[Ammo Republic 15]

I’d have never thought someone would mention the Remington Nylon 66. My grandfather bought me one on my 11th birthday in 1967 and I still have it. One of my favorites for sure...thanks for the mention!

[GBA]

For a shotgun, my first and second favorites are the Remington 870 and the Mossberg 500.

For a .22 rifle, it's hard to go wrong with a Ruger 10/22. Good right out of the box, plus there are plenty of aftermarket stocks and accessories available to make it better and more personal.

[databoss]

Barrels have a tendency to warp slightly otw a great gun!

[jonascord]

Just as an aside: A "Damascus" barrel is an old method of making a shotgun barrel where strips of steel were hammer welded into a spiral around an inner mandrel. This was a popular and inexpensive method in the 19th century, but with the advent of smokeless nitro powders at the beginning of the 20th century, the Damascus was quickly found to be too weak, and would split along the hammered seams.

This is where the "blossomed" barrel you see in cartoons came from. (Mythbusters, naturally, screwed up this story when they were playing with a-finger-in-the-gun-barrel myth)

I recall, vividly, all the warnings in American Rifleman, back in the 50's. Guns last forever, and hauling GrandDad's side-by-side Iver Johnson goose gun out of the back of the closet and loading it with modern shells was a fairly common mistake, then.

[Utah Binger]

Re: Ruger 10/22. This is the one I shoot. I added a scope to take care of bifocals. Picked off two skunks last week from about 100 feet.

[Paladin2]

12 ga. slugs put really big holes in targets. Shoot the .22 first.

[JrsyJack]

Mossberg 500 or Remington 870 are both quality home defense shotguns for under $400. Things to look for are shorter barrel, 18.5” to 20”, capacity 7+1 and ease of use, i.e. point and shoot. Would not recommend slugs in the house as they will penetrate a car door at 50yds, dry wall offers no protection for innocent bystanders, i.e. children in the house. Get some 00 or 000 buck shot. BTW, don’t waste money on the fancy packaged HD ammo being sold at $25 per box of ten. Plain old Walmart $3.25 000 buck will do the job.

Both the Ruger 10/22 or Marlin 60 are great .22LR plinkers that can be used to take small game and varmints. Both rifles are almost universal in usage, have many aftermarket parts available and shoot quite well for inexpensive guns. Keep in mind that 50 - 100 yds is all you are going to get out of a basic .22 round so if you need more, start thinking about a .223 or .308 platform.

Good Luck

[GlockThe Vote]

The Papoose is a take down and removable barrell. I am as accurate at 100 yards with it as the 10/22. Only drawback is the Marlin Clips and magazines.

[Paladin2]

My son has found that pulling Great-G’dad’s Win 1894 30-30 (mfg. in 1896) out of the attic works just fine.