46 replies to this topic

[sxshooter]

If you're gonna get a new shotgun for dove season, you better'd get with it.

[Jason]

With the ten day waiting period you really have only 21 days left to shop before opening day.

[sxshooter]

True...unless you have an FFL or C&R FFL. Most of the guns I buy are C&R guns, so no waiting.

[Bisley]

At this point in time you would be better off doing yourself and the birds a favor by using your old shotgun. Buying one right now makes about as much sense as buying a deer rifle the week before the opener. Should have bought it in March or April since you would be hard pressed to check your favorite loads for reliability, patterning, and POA vs POI, not to mention stock fit. And not being able to check any of that means a lot of misses, and even worse, a lot more wounded fly-offs. But hey, what do I know, I can't even tell my from a hole in the ground, right? . So buy them now, or better yet, wait another week or two

[zippy1970]

And do not forget , practice , practice , practice .

Shoot . And shoot more often . PATTERN your gun . I found out my L barrel shoots to the L on my SXS , after patterning .

I don't do Dove but can't wait for Quail / Chucker . Hiking every 2 weeks , shoot min once a month ( need to do it more come Sept ) .

And break-in all of that new gear before you go afield . Especially the boots .

Andy

[Bisley]

And do not forget , practice , practice , practice .
PATTERN your gun . I found out my L barrel shoots to the L on my SXS , after patterning .

Yep, in the last year I have seen my hunting partner's O/U bottom barrel shoot 18" low with his reloads and a member on here learned he shoots his pump 12" to the right because he shoots right handed and is left eye dominant. Good thing this was all learned back in April/May when it should be and not a month before opener with little to no time to do much to correct it, huh? But who needs logic, wisdom, and common sense, right?

[zippy1970]

I do

Andy

ps . you get my pm / email bob ?

[Bisley]

I did now! Darn kid, he gets on here and forgets to tell me about things like that. Too bad he shoots better than I do or I would have to teach him a lesson . Appreciate the offer, thanks for thinking of me, but I use old thrift shop brief cases (a trick my buddy taught me). LEO, DFG, and BLM Rangers never even give the cases a second look

[sxshooter]

Buying new guns and equipment just before the season is an American tradition. It stimulates the economy, and everyone knows we can use that. It excites the new owner and causes him to focus.

But I suppose if you look for a reason for it to be a negative, it will be for you. There's nothing like a new gun to me, that puts an extra effort into my shooting. It's a positive thing for me.

29 more days...

[Bisley]

Equipment, absolutely. Gun just before, no way. And if wanting to be prepared and proficient with a firearm before using it is being negative, guilty as charged. I guess I just always thought of it as being responsible, ethical, and smart? But again, I know nothing, right?

[sxshooter]

Here's your big chance to be "...responsible, ethical, and smart...". Quit throwing thinly veiled insults at me. Whatta ya say Mr. responsible, ethical and smart?

[Loopdog]

[sxshooter]

28 more days...

I'm going out on the openner with a old-new gun. It's a 28ga Parker Reproduction I bought a couple years ago for the sole purpose of converting it to a .410. A couple years ago, Galazan (Connecticutt Shotgun Manfacturing) advertised extra barrels for various gauges of Parker Reproductions. One of the many offerings was a set of 28", .410 barrels, to fit the 28ga, 00 size frame. I ordered the barrels as soon as I saw the ad and went looking on the net for a 28ga Repro. I found this one at Jaqua's in Ohio. 28" (a little rare as most were 26") 28ga. This is the same gun I bent the stock on to fit me very recently. I had used it a few times to hunt and shoot some clays with, but it shot a bit high for me. The comb of the stock was 1 3/8" x 2 1/4" and I shoot a 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" drop, which is a more common fit for most folks and what you find on many field guns. So, it didn't get shot much as a .28ga.







2 years later, the barrels showed up..., but that's another story.

I took the .410 barrels and gun to Les Pitman recently, up in Phelan, to have them fitted. He did a fantastic job. They really came out fitted like a factory set of barrels.

Then a few weeks ago, I finished up my stock bending rig and bent the stock to fit me better.

I've only had a chance to pattern it and shoot a couple rounds of sporting clays with it, but it's working really well for me.

[TonyS]

Every time I see a new Galazan brochure I drool for a week. God they make nice stuff. Out of my league pricewise but beautiful! How'd your gun shoot with the new barrels?

That is a gorgeous gun. I would never trust myself in the field with it.

[sxshooter]

Tony,
After I bent the stock to fit me, I shot pretty well with it, with the .410 barrels. The .410 barrels add another 14 oz. to the gun, taking it from 5 lbs 10 oz to 6 1/2 lbs almost on the dot. This weight increase makes for a nice smooth swing. It's a little disappointing that the barrels were that much heavier. Although I expected they'd be heavier than the 28ga barrels, I was hoping they would be something like 8 oz heavier. Still, the gun swings nicely and I felt very comfortable with it. Before I bent this gun, I really never felt really comfortable with it. It should be nice for pass shooting some dove.

[clampdaddy]

At this point in time you would be better off doing yourself and the birds a favor by using your old shotgun. Buying one right now makes about as much sense as buying a deer rifle the week before the opener. Should have bought it in March or April since you would be hard pressed to check your favorite loads for reliability, patterning, and POA vs POI, not to mention stock fit. And not being able to check any of that means a lot of misses, and even worse, a lot more wounded fly-offs. But hey, what do I know, I can't even tell my from a hole in the ground, right? . So buy them now, or better yet, wait another week or two

I disagree Bis. It may affect the guy who has only shot the same gun since he was a kid but most "shotgunners" that have a closet full of different shotguns usually don't have a problem switching to a different gun. It's been quite a few seasons (7 that I can think of) since I haven't fielded a new to me gun on opening day of dove season and I never have a problem putting 'em down.

[Bisley]

I disagree Bis. It may affect the guy who has only shot the same gun since he was a kid but most real "shotgunners" that have a closet full of different shotguns usually don't have a problem switching to a different gun.

My problem is not the shooter, the problem is the gun itself. Between just two people, Andy and myself, there are three shotguns that did not hit to POA. That is not very good odds to me. Switching between your old shotguns and a new one that has never been patterned or checked for POI pr POA are two entirely different things. I am very glad to hear that you have not had a problem switching between that many, but seeing how so many people that actually do check before just toting into the field find out how far off they actually are, it is a chance that should not be taken. Why is it patterning and POA is always encouraged, even insisted on for coyotes, but ignored for birds? Crippled birds happen often enough with a gun that is known to shoot straight, why in the world would you risk even more with one that has not been checked? You check to see where a rifle hits with either iron sights or a scope before hunting, a shotgun pattern is no different. And I say it not as an insult, but rather out of respect for those of us that do, that is what makes the difference between a sportsman and a person who shoots animals. A sportsman will do everything possible to make sure he is hitting where he aims, not just assuming it does. And if that doesn't sit well, rubs the wrong way, or just flat out pisses some off, I do not know what to say. It is what it is, and it is how we should have been taught, and how we should continue to still teach. Knowing for sure where you hit is about the most important thing there is in any kind of hunting, do you not agree?

[stephen722]

I shoot a tm1 several rounds a week, will switch to a auto on the first and only thing I will notice is less recoil! shot gunners don't have much use for sights, most would shoot better if beads were broken off. ps the wire takes great delight in chasing down cripples, have fun stephen

[clampdaddy]

My problem is not the shooter, the problem is the gun itself. Between just two people, Andy and myself, there are three shotguns that did not hit to POA. That is not very good odds to me. Switching between your old shotguns and a new one that has never been patterned or checked for POI pr POA are two entirely different things. I am very glad to hear that you have not had a problem switching between that many, but seeing how so many people that actually do check before just toting into the field find out how far off they actually are, it is a chance that should not be taken. Why is it patterning and POA is always encouraged, even insisted on for coyotes, but ignored for birds? Crippled birds happen often enough with a gun that is known to shoot straight, why in the world would you risk even more with one that has not been checked? You check to see where a rifle hits with either iron sights or a scope before hunting, a shotgun pattern is no different. And I say it not as an insult, but rather out of respect for those of us that do, that is what makes the difference between a sportsman and a person who shoots animals. A sportsman will do everything possible to make sure he is hitting where he aims, not just assuming it does. And if that doesn't sit well, rubs the wrong way, or just flat out pisses some off, I do not know what to say. It is what it is, and it is how we should have been taught, and how we should continue to still teach. Knowing for sure where you hit is about the most important thing there is in any kind of hunting, do you not agree?

Nowhere did anybody say that you should show up on opening day with a gun you have never fired. If a guy were to buy a gun right now that would still leave plenty of time to check patterns and poi.

[sxshooter]

Stephen
I was a K-gun guy for a few years. 3200s as well. I always wanted a P-gun. If I get onenow, it'll be a MX410 or maybe that new sxs.

[sxshooter]

Just a guess, but I doubt .01% of the shotguns fielded every year have ever been patterned.

[Bisley]

Then just a fact, 99.99% of the people fielding shotguns are irresponsible and wrong. And thank God I can say with pride that neither the ones I hunt with, nor I, are one of them. Even the nephew (12) has patterned his and knows how and where he shoots it, as he should. But that is to be expected, he is learning what it takes to hunt, not just shoot.

[sxshooter]

Ah yes...the self-anointed Christopher Columbus of the moral high ground...climbing the mountain of the unwashed to plant your flag and stand taller.

[stephen722]

Then just a fact, 99.99% of the people fielding shotguns are irresponsible and wrong
I would like to meet the guy who can cripple doves at will with a 12 bore! PUFF = hit, miss is see ya latter bye. most are shooting so far behind the grease board is not going to help them much, have fun stephen

[bunktheclown]

I agree Stephen! That grease board may help someone that mostly shoots at a stationary or very slow moving target (coyotes) but will do nothing for a dove flying @ nearly 45MPH. You would be hard pressed to find anyone who can calculate 12" over, under , left or right on a target at a unknown distance moving that fast. That is not even factoring in wind speed, humidity, or shell inconsistency.

Its a shotgun for crying out loud!

-jb

[clampdaddy]

I don't care how well a gun patterns, there isn't a single one of us that can go out and crumble every bird that we shoot at. Even Tom Knapp is going to have a few crippled fly offs. Saying that someone is wrong or irresponsible for not patterning their gun is a bit extreme I think. If a gun will smash hand thrown clays at an informal get together with your buddys then you're good to go. If all you get is misses and chips then I could see calling a guy irresponsible for taking that gun out after game. Heck, there are guys who shoot thousands upon thousands of rounds during the course of a year and they could just as easily say that it is wrong and irresponsible for us regular guys to out after live game without getting in what they would consider "enough" practice on aerial targets. Some guys could also say that it is wrong or immoral to go out with a single shot because you have no second or third shot to bring down a lightly hit bird. There are just to many ways to look at it to make a cut and dry, right or wrong, call on the situation.

[HOG]

I for one hav patterned shotguns in the past only because but only because my old skeet buddy had things set up. Can't say it improved my shotgunning...........I do OK.

[Frank]

The idea is not only to check how well the gun patterns a certain load, but to also see WHERE it hits (POI / point of impact). The idea is not only to check how well the gun patterns a certain load, but to also see WHERE it hits (POI / point of impact). The idea is not....

It is a physical impossibility to score well & often, with gaping holes in a pattern &/or hitting (POI) 8" high &/or to the right at a specific distance. To not Pattern & check POI may, or may not, be irresponsible or wrong, but it is definitely IDIOTIC... as you do NOT KNOW your guns & loads or yourself.... on the hits & misses!

How often we target (skeet or trap) practice & go hunting (to improve) should come afterwards, not before. It is beyond amazing the number of times in my short 50 years of hunting, how many individuals do not bother to check their shotguns or rifles. This practice is obviously still alive and well today... Unfortunately!

[clampdaddy]

The idea is not only to check how well the gun patterns a certain load, but to also see WHERE it hits (POI / point of impact). The idea is not only to check how well the gun patterns a certain load, but to also see WHERE it hits (POI / point of impact). The idea is not....

It is a physical impossibility to score well & often, with gaping holes in a pattern &/or hitting (POI) 8" high &/or to the right at a specific distance. To not Pattern & check POI may, or may not, be irresponsible or wrong, but it is definitely IDIOTIC... as you do NOT KNOW your guns & loads or yourself.... on the hits & misses!

How often we target (skeet or trap) practice & go hunting (to improve) should come afterwards, not before. It is beyond amazing the number of times in my short 50 years of hunting, how many individuals do not bother to check their shotguns or rifles. This practice is obviously still alive and well today... Unfortunately!

So if a guy gets a brand new gun, takes it out for a round of sporting clays or informal target shooting, and smashes birds, he is still in the wrong for not putting his gun on paper before he goes out for a hunt? Sorry but I'm calling B.S.. A guy in Wisconsin that is going to shoot his deer at 30 yards from a tree stand doesn't need to try 10 different loads to see what loading produces the tightest groups at 100, 200, and 300 yards in his gun. He needs to find a load that will cover the job at hand and be able to put a bullet somewhere near the center of a pie plate. This is no different than a guy using a round of clay to assess the performance of his shotgun. If it breaks clay it will kill birds, plain and simple. Again, nobody here said that anybody should go out with an unproven gun. The OP just said that if you want to get a new one for the season that you'd better act quick......that is all.

[Bisley]

Sorry but I'm calling B.S.. A guy in Wisconsin that is going to shoot his deer at 30 yards from a tree stand doesn't need to try 10 different loads to see what loading produces the tightest groups at 100, 200, and 300 yards in his gun. He needs to find a load that will cover the job at hand and be able to put a bullet somewhere near the center of a pie plate.

But he did check it. Not knowing where your shotgun hits is just like that same guy using a laser bore sighter and calling it good without shooting it.
Busting moderately thrown clays at 20 yards can not even begin to compare to a full speed bird flushed at 25 yards and/or shot at 30+ yards. I wish I had photoed the paper we patterned the O/U on. It looked at 20 yards but had 3 pellets in the upper 18" of the 36" rosin paper at 40 yards. And if you still think that makes no difference, I feel sorry for you, and more sorry for whatever is being shot at.

Ah yes...the self-anointed Christopher Columbus of the moral high ground...climbing the mountain of the unwashed to plant your flag and stand taller.

Sure beats the Hell out of dredging the sewers with the bulk of so many others who don't care. It's a pretty small man to criticize another for teaching/doing what is only right.