This keeps coming up,and the E mail box has had two separate queries about this in the last week, so here's my opinions, and they ARE opinions.
Others may differ, and probably will.
The question goes something like...
"Can I use my _____(Fill in the blank) for trap/skeet/SC/ live pigeons, or rats down at the dump?".
The quickneasy answer, of course.
While whatever shotgun you have may not be the best shotgun for whatever game,it still is the shotgun you have, and should be exercised regularly. Few things in life have quickneasy answers, tho, so....
Field guns get carried a lot and shot little, and the other way around for gamer guns.
Most gamer guns run heavier than field guns, especially those used on smaller birds like grouse, or quail. And the balance points differ, at least for most folks. Trap guns run tight on chokes, and the balance point lies a little further out than clay or skeet guns. The POI is a little higher, few trap guns run less than 8 lbs, a good lb more than what I like in a field gun.
Skeet guns shoot more to POA, balance more like field guns,
but are still heavier. I'd feel comfortable taking most skeet guns out for upland game, tho I'd wear out faster than usual.
SC games, ditto. While SC started as a game where people could freely compete with their hunting shotgun, that's gotten lost in the sauce. This doesn't mean that you won't have fun shooting, it means few of the trophies in the world will ever have your name engraved on them. To me, hardly important.
As for "Serious" shotguns, anything I may have to bet my life on is going to get used until it feels like a body part, not a tool. A GR sighted, flat black, pump gun with all the accessories ST or ROBAR catalog may not look or score like a Perazzi or one of Geoff's K guns, but a few rounds of some clay game periodically will aid your handling and abilities like nothing else.
BTW, a 28" bbled 1100 with a full mag entension balances like a trap O/U and weighs about the same. Same sight radius also.Something to think about...
Caveat, some shotguns are capable of lasting decades when only used for hunting but fold quickly under the more constant use common to gamers.A gamer will shoot more shells in a year than most hunters in 10, so the best choices tend to be durable designs, which aren't usually the cheapest.
Finally, shooting rats in dumps(a recreation of my wastrel and misspent youth) is one of the few legit uses for the 410. Use eye and ear protection, 9 shot, and remember there's lots of flat surfaces for pellets to rebound from.
Questions, comments, donations?....
Others may differ, and probably will.
The question goes something like...
"Can I use my _____(Fill in the blank) for trap/skeet/SC/ live pigeons, or rats down at the dump?".
The quickneasy answer, of course.
While whatever shotgun you have may not be the best shotgun for whatever game,it still is the shotgun you have, and should be exercised regularly. Few things in life have quickneasy answers, tho, so....
Field guns get carried a lot and shot little, and the other way around for gamer guns.
Most gamer guns run heavier than field guns, especially those used on smaller birds like grouse, or quail. And the balance points differ, at least for most folks. Trap guns run tight on chokes, and the balance point lies a little further out than clay or skeet guns. The POI is a little higher, few trap guns run less than 8 lbs, a good lb more than what I like in a field gun.
Skeet guns shoot more to POA, balance more like field guns,
but are still heavier. I'd feel comfortable taking most skeet guns out for upland game, tho I'd wear out faster than usual.
SC games, ditto. While SC started as a game where people could freely compete with their hunting shotgun, that's gotten lost in the sauce. This doesn't mean that you won't have fun shooting, it means few of the trophies in the world will ever have your name engraved on them. To me, hardly important.
As for "Serious" shotguns, anything I may have to bet my life on is going to get used until it feels like a body part, not a tool. A GR sighted, flat black, pump gun with all the accessories ST or ROBAR catalog may not look or score like a Perazzi or one of Geoff's K guns, but a few rounds of some clay game periodically will aid your handling and abilities like nothing else.
BTW, a 28" bbled 1100 with a full mag entension balances like a trap O/U and weighs about the same. Same sight radius also.Something to think about...
Caveat, some shotguns are capable of lasting decades when only used for hunting but fold quickly under the more constant use common to gamers.A gamer will shoot more shells in a year than most hunters in 10, so the best choices tend to be durable designs, which aren't usually the cheapest.
Finally, shooting rats in dumps(a recreation of my wastrel and misspent youth) is one of the few legit uses for the 410. Use eye and ear protection, 9 shot, and remember there's lots of flat surfaces for pellets to rebound from.
Questions, comments, donations?....
