Episode-256- The Hunting Shotgun
We talk quite a bit about tactical stuff around here but hunting is a very different world especially when it comes to the shotgun. Join me today as I give you a rapid fire overview of the shotguns adaptability and utility as a sporting arm and something that has been putting meat on tables for a very long time.
Today I also name Kenny MacAskill as “assclown of the day” for recommending the the release of a terrorist who killed 270 people by blowing up a Pan Am aircraft over Scotland in 1988. Hero of the day is granted to the “Friends of the NRA” by request of a listener for their program called “Youth Educational Summit” (YES) which allows our youth to visit our nations capital and learn about our history and of course the 2nd Amendment.
Tune in today to hear…
- Why is a shotgun the ultimate huntting arm?
- How do tactical shotgun needs differ from hunting shotgun needs?
- What are the merits of the single shot, the double, the pump and the semi auto?
- What is proper “fit” for a shotgun and why does it matter?
- What are the most common applications for shot sizes such as 9, 8, 7.5, 6, 4, 2 and BB?
- Why do we have steel shot? What are the problems it presents to the hunter?
- A run down of chokes from Cylinder Bore to Full and their purposes
- Is buckshot really a good choice for shooting a buck?
- Why is a slug the better choice for hunting deer?
- What is a foster style slug?
- What are the advantages of reloading for the shot gun?
- What is a drive key slug?
Resources for today’s show…
- Members Support Brigade
- Join Our Forum
- Region Six Get Together
- Ready Made Resources – (sponsor of the day) (RMRs Maxpedition Page)
- Tactical Response Gear – Tactical Response Training – (sponsor of the day)
- Friends of the NRA – Heros of the Day
- Kenny MacAskill – Assclown of the Day
- Lee Drive Key Slug
- Lee Load All
- Proper fit with a shotgun
- The “Snipe Hunt” The Joke
- The real version of snipe hunting
Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show.
You also now can call in questions or comments for the host at 866-65-THINK, (866-658-4465) please read the suggestions for calling in before you do for the best chance of getting your comments on the air.
American Susan Cohen, who lost her 20-year-old daughter, Theodora, said in an interview with Sky News, “We don’t want to hear any talk of compassion. He’s a mass murderer.”
’nuff said.
File downloaded as “epi-002556-the-hunting-shotgun.mp3” – numbering seems just a smidgen off to me. 😉
@Chris,
Good catch. I duplicated the file on the server and changed the linked file from the site. That way if anyone’s iTunes is cashed or anything they won’t have any file not found or anything.
Part of me wonders if the guy was released from prison so that the state wouldn’t have to pay for cancer treatments. Part of being in a big house is the free medical care that goes with it, regardless of the crime. Best way to kill a terminally ill felon is to get them off of the dole.
Haven’t listened yet (listen on the way home each day) but I have a question on reloading for the shotgun: I have been reloading for a few months with a MEC 600 jr. Really enjoy it and have been happy with the results. My question is: do you need a special setup to reload your own slugs? Is that even possible / advisable?
@ChrisK the answer is yes and no. For the typical slugs we think of yes, if you cast your own with the “drive key” mold from Lee no. I don’t know if you can buy precast slugs like this or not. I have cast my own and they are just as easy to load as shot, you even use a wad with them, etc. Check out the drive key link in the show notes for more.
@agentem for a POS like that I can think of a much more efficient way to solve the problem. Also since he is in final stages and terminal I am sure he doesn’t qualify for treatment in the ration system anyway.
Jack i need a bib when you started going blah blah blah i spit up my coffie.Jack what do you think about rifled screw in choke tubes.Will these with a scope and a sabot slug make a smooth bore shotgun into a 125-150 yard deer gun.
When i was a teenager we did a snipe hunt to teach a neighborhood bully a lesson and it worked.
I started with a .410 single shot when I was 8 years old. My dad and grandfather would let me carry it hunting with no shells for 2 year, only allowing me to shoot cans after the hunt. I believe that’s the way it should be done. 1st teach safety, then how to shoot.
@Dan Hunter
You will get better results with a screw in rifle choke then with out it when shooting sabot slugs. You will not get as good of a result as you would with a rifled barrel. My personal view is either go smooth bore with fosters or rifled barrel with sabots.
The big thing I don’t like about rifling is it ruins shot patters. So it is less versatile in an actual survival situation. Take one example say you were hunting with say a shotgun with a rifled barrel and got lost, even if you carried some bird and buck shot both would pattern like crap. If you get a smooth bore with sites you can easily use foster slugs or shot and both will shoot well.
Once in a survival situation you want to be able to harvest anything editable. You could easily in this situation put a bird shot round in the chamber and a slug in the mag. The most likely shot will tend to be small game so you are ready for a wing shot. If you see a deer, bear, etc. quietly cycle the action, slug is up and ready and bang. A rifle barrel takes that away.
So again and this is just a personal view I only really see the point to a rifled shotgun when hunting in a shotgun only zone. If you want to shoot over 100 yards and are allowed to get a rifle.
On your tube it like it better because carrying an extra tube is easier then a second barrel but unless you expect to be shooting often beyond 75 yards I would not even worry about it. A foster slug is a big chunk of lead and does a damn good job a putting down game.
Also, check out ITX Shot. It has the same density as lead but is not toxic for hunting.
http://www.ballisticproducts.com/products.asp?dept=370
Mel
Thanks Jack a lot of good info in your reply keep up the good work DANO
ANOTHER great show Jack. One thing though, in a hunting situation, the one shot difference between a pump action and a double barrel isn’t all that great. If you can’t hit it with 2 shotgun shells, you probably won’t with 3. So I’d say the capacity is a much smaller issue than things like fit and price.
I actually hadn’t considered rifled chokes until I saw Dan’s comment. On something like an O/U, the barrels don’t pop on and off quite as easily as something like an 870. So if I want to go to slugs in an O/U, will Sabot slugs and a rifled choke shoot better than just plain vanilla rifled slugs from an open/cylinder choke? It’s a lot easier (not to mention cheaper) to just toss another choke in the bag than to pack the extra barrels and equipment to mount it after all.
New to the topic, but thanks to Jack, I’m developing interest in the subject of hunting and firearms. Great intro to the subject.
Here’s a Wikipedia link that other newbies might find useful for the basics:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun
Again, and again, podcasts like today’s are proof that TSP is an incredible resource of information, and real-life experience.
@PistolWhipped,
One extra does matter specifically on doubles and triples. Last year alone I scored 2 triples in the dove field and plenty of doubles.
I have had only one double on grouse in my life but with out three shots it would not have happened. Numerous doubles on ducks too and even a double on Geese before.
If more shots wasn’t an advantage there wouldn’t be regulations requiring use of a plug.
Good point. But I usually figure after a double, I might as well reload. I can hit the regularly enough that losing one, or even two on a triple won\’t hurt my feelings too bad. I just like the lighter weight of the double if I\’m hiking through a freshly cut corn field on opening day. Plus I\’m the only one in my house who eats game anymore either, so nailing 2 or 3 ducks a trip or maxing out on doves might be a bit of a waste, even I get tired of them after a while. I really don\’t hunt much except doves, waterfowl, and deer. So an O/U suits my purposes a bit better as far as a light, easy handling weapon.
Plus, the family is, how do I say, a bit inept with firearms. The simplicity of the break action means that I at least have them informed enough not to shoot themselves in the foot with it. I think teaching that on a pump might had them around the \"scary gun\" more than they liked. Now they can at least break it open, drop in 2 shells, and shoot vaguely straight if they had to. They don\’t want to invest the effort to learn anything more complex than that.