Question Re: Shotguns and scoping

[Awoke]

So I am getting set up for a deer hunt in a "Shotgun only" area.

My Shotgun is a tactical home defender. It has an 18 inch barrel, smooth bore, full cylinder bore. (No choke at all)

I am intending on shooting with high-quality rifled slugs.

I put a 1x-4x scope on it, and at 50 yards I was not getting any repeatability. I spoke with a friend about this, and he said that with my gun I would be lucky to get 6 inch grouping at 25 yards.

Does everyone agree with this sentiment? Am I expecting more accuracy than my full cylindar bore gun can deliver?

Anyone who has experience with smooth bore scoped hunting or sighting, please chime in.

Thanks!

[chad]

my opinion: rifled slugs are fine for smooth bore, but you'll need a choke if you want any real accuracy. my understanding is that your setup would probably work best with an improved cylinder. if you don't have the ability to add a choke, you're not going to get any better than what your friend said.

i hunt a lot in southern iowa with shotgun guys, and this is wht i've alway been told. shoot black powder myself, so i am just passing along third party gossip.

[SLV^GLD]

Am I expecting more accuracy than my full cylindar bore gun can deliver?

I have no more experience than range time with a similar shotgun and similar slugs and the simple answer to your question is "yes".
You can spend the money for a purpose machined >18" barrel that accepts chokes and switch them out as needed. However, barrels are just about as expensive as whole shotguns and I found it more economical to buy a shotgun specifically for hunting and left the home defender alone.

[big country]

I got about the same accuracy as you described with a .410 shooting slugs from a smoothbore barrel no ability to add chokes. I shot it at the range and could hardly get it to hit on a 3' x 4' peice of paper at 25 yards. It was TERRIBLE. I gave up after that. I then got an 870 combo (rifled barrel and smoothbore) and the rifled barrels shoots slugs like a DREAM! I've only shot them at the range though as I too, like chad, shoot black powder exclusively for deer now. I never took the shotgun deer hunting, only at the range and it shot fine. (non-rifled slugs of course since I have a rifled barrel)

In short, you could try a different brand of slugs to see if that helps...It could be the ammo. If that doesn't help you dont have many more options other then a barrel that can accept chokes or getting a rifled barrel for it (my choice...)

[Awoke]

Choke is the only option. This particular shotgun doesn't have a rifled barrel available for it.

[osoab]

Choke is the only option. This particular shotgun doesn't have a rifled barrel available for it.


Is a cheap Mossberg (Used or New) with a rifled barrel an option?

Why change around your home defense shotty?

[Awoke]

Oh, I am just wondering what kind of patterning I can expect with it, when shooting slugs.

I just don't have the cash to go buy a new shotgun right now, so I am stuck with this one. I might just borrow one off a friend though. I have lots of friends with guns.

[Awoke]

OK so I got out again the other day and tried scoping it in again, with a fresh start.

First shot I took was about about 12 yards away, and it was off tothe right pretty hard.
So I reeled it in and tried a gain; bullseye.

Backed up to 50, shot, 4 inches to the right. Made an adjustment, and got 3 shots that were a 4 inch pattern with one in the bullseye, so I walked away with that.

Now that I have done this a couple times, I feel better about it. Going to buy taller scope mounts and do it all over again, because the existing scope mounts block my iron sights. Live and learn.

[midnight rambler]

Are you using Foster style or Brenneke slugs? You will likely get better results with the latter.

[Awoke]

Rottweil slugs. They're high quality.
But I know that sometimes even the best bullets will not group as good as the cheapest. It always depends on the gun. Guns are like snowflakes.

I brought my rig into the shop tonight to buy new scope mounts and install a new front sight post, so I have to go and zero that bad boy in again now anyways, but it's something I am growing to enjoy doing. The old scope mounts were lower and I couldn't get a line of sight on my irons, so I raised the scope up with some open-style mounts so I can use either scope or irons. Nice. I'm really excited about it actually. The gun looks like a zombie killing machine.

[osoab]

Rottweil slugs. They're high quality.
But I know that sometimes even the best bullets will not group as good as the cheapest. It always depends on the gun. Guns are like snowflakes.

I brought my rig into the shop tonight to buy new scope mounts and install a new front sight post, so I have to go and zero that bad boy in again now anyways, but it's something I am growing to enjoy doing. The old scope mounts were lower and I couldn't get a line of sight on my irons, so I raised the scope up with some open-style mounts so I can use either scope or irons. Nice. I'm really excited about it actually. The gun looks like a zombie killing machine.

What kind of deer do you have up North? :)

[Awoke]

Whitetail. They're delicious!

[LastResort]

I know you said you had no money for another gun right now, but I would keep an eye out for a used one. Last year I picked up an old bolt action mossberg with adjustable choke off an oldtimer for $75 buck. Iron sights on it are pretty good too.

I like the idea of the over under scope mount. Thats what I have on the 30-06. Last year when I shot my buck I had no time to find it in the scope. It was on the move and I only had time to start shooting. :)

[Awoke]

The raised scope is nice. I'm not sure if we're talking about the same thing or not, when you say over under, but these are the mounts I am using, Remington.

I can see the iron sights through the the oval gap, or use the scope.


http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS99uFqGZa-wjWdXrnc-nroWUcKsZl840Lw7J_lWP5EaVpnAwAZVqOxGqU9

[LastResort]

Yep that exactly what I'm talking about. Gun slang runs wild. I don't know wtf people are talking about sometimes...LOL

[SLV^GLD]

FWIW, in reference to shotguns, the term "over-under" is best reserved for a double barrel configuration where one barrel is positioned above the other as opposed to next to it. In practically all cases the over-under shotgun is break-action with dual triggers. The alternate barrel configuration is termed "side-by-side".

It is not uncommon to hear people refer to long arms which employ a rifle caliber and a shotgun gauge as over-unders but they are more appropriately termed "combination guns" and the side by side variant is correctly called a "cape gun".

[Awoke]

I would love to get my hands on a Combination gun.

[LastResort]

FWIW, in reference to shotguns, the term "over-under" is best reserved for a double barrel configuration where one barrel is positioned above the other as opposed to next to it. In practically all cases the over-under shotgun is break-action with dual triggers. The alternate barrel configuration is termed "side-by-side".

It is not uncommon to hear people refer to long arms which employ a rifle caliber and a shotgun gauge as over-unders but they are more appropriately termed "combination guns" and the side by side variant is correctly called a "cape gun".

Yes like the old mans over under .410/.22. Oooops I mean combination gun. I'll be sure to check the dictionary the next time I post....

[SLV^GLD]

Just don't refer to magazines as clips you'll be okay. :)

[Awoke]

Why not?

What is the difference between a mag and clip?

[SLV^GLD]

Why not?

What is the difference between a mag and clip?

Magazines store rounds and feed them into the action of a gun. Clips hold rounds to feed them into magazines or cylinders.

Mosin Nagant, SKS and M1 Garand are examples of rifles that employ a clip for loading the magazine although it can also be done by hand.
Practically all revolvers can come with a clip accessory to load the cylinder.

Sometimes called stripper clips and moon clips respectively.

[Awoke]

Ahh yes, now that you mention it, I did know that.

I'm a big fan of my SKS which used to take clips but now takes magazines.