Plug Theories

B

Bella

New member
Why is it that shotguns are limited to three rounds when used for hunting?

If you go small game hunting with a 22 rimfire rifle you can have has many rounds as the magazine or tube can hold. If you are hunting with a revolver you you don't have to plug half the chambers. Even when using a big game rifle you are not restricted to three rounds in the weapon.

Is it for safety reasons? Is it for conservation reasons? Is there a reason?
 
I believe this goes back about a hundred years, to the days of commercial waterfowl hunting and punt guns.
 
There is no valid reason at all.

For the most part, restrictions like these make no sense because they weren't enacted for any reason than to restrict firearm usage/ownership in one way or another. It's the tactic of whittling away at the 2nd amendment entitlements.

I'm sure that whoever had the initial idea for this restriction probably had a reason to put out there. Public/hunter safety or some such spurious excuse but you can bet that the vast majority of the time it was just proposed and enacted to place one more restriction on gun ownership and use.

It's commonly called the death by a thousand cuts tactic.

Aarond

.
 
I believe this has been a Federal Law for Migratory bird hunting for as long as I have been alive. (67 years)

I do not think its original intent involved the 2nd Amendment. You will probably find it had to do with what was already posted about conservation and resulted from market hunting.
 
Long ago there were market hunters,folks who made income shooting game and selling it.
Market hunting was credited for the extinction of the passenger pigeon.
Wild duck and goose populations were down,the canvasback near extinction.

Shotguns weren't the cause,but the bison and pronghorn were near extinct.

Back at this time,very large home built guns called "punt guns" were attached to boats,called punts.They were nearer to artillery than shoulder fired guns.The puntswere camo'd and silently sculled up to a sitting flock of ducks,then the ducks were "claymored"

The old 6 shot Win 1897 could be used in similar fashion.

I would not say an intrusive government was behind the law.

A large percentage of folks recognized sport hunting and commercial slaughter of game are not the same.Sportsman were the driving force behind regulations to help keep a sustained population of wildlife for the future.

So,we got some weapons limits,bag limits,seasons,etc.

We also got a 10% tax on guns,ammo,sporting goods to help fund wildlife.

And concerned folks created Trout Unlimited,Ducks unlimited,Pheasants Forever,etc.

So,no,it not a plot to disarm you.

Now,please consider this:Life is hard enough for the birds and game.They catch a pellet or two in the guts,they keep flying.Maybe you notice you stung one a bit.

Those birds die.If you take three,but wound six,you kill nine,plus the chicks they would produce

Banging out five or six shots instead of one or two will not collect many more birds,but it will wound more.

If the limit is 3 birds,consider limiting yourself to 12 shells.Thats 4 a bird.It should not be a problem if you can shoot.Even 15,thats 5 a bird.By self limiting (no.I don't want a law) the amount of ammo you use in a day,you'll pass up "poke and hope" shots.

You'll cripple fewer.Let the ones too far go.Shoot one bird till its down,keep your eye where it fell,and go pick it up.

Your shotgun is lighter with 3,anyway.

Me,I like a double.
 
Last edited:
Also factor in the first major success of what I call "junk science", which also resulted in the lead shot for waterfowl bans. Which had expanded over time, in some places to a ban on lead shot for any hunting.

I won't argue that if the ducks eat lead pellets its bad for them. But I have never been convinced that studies showing that being a problem in a few particular area was sufficient cause for a general ban. But that's what we got.

Hunting is a sport. The state can, and does regulate it as it see fit. If you want to play in that game, you have to play by their rules, no matter how much, or how little sense you see in any particular rule.

I knew a place where you could shoot bear with buckshot. But shooting a deer standing in the exact same spot, with the exact same shell was a crime under the game laws.

never could figure out the sense in that one...
 
Years ago there was a legal market for waterfowl. "Hunters" would kill hundreds in a day, clean them and sell them. When the market was done away with and bag limits imposed it was a way to limit the number of animals taken.

Since waterfowl, travel great distances they are governed by federal laws, not state laws. All states limit you to 3 rounds for waterfowl. Some states, like GA keep things simple and limit all shotgun hunting to 3 rounds. Other states only enforce the 3 round limit for waterfowl and allow more when hunting other game.

Realistically with the bag limits we have today there is no reason one way or the other. If the bag limit is 3 ducks, having more, or less than 3 shells isn't much of a factor either way. But don't hold your breath waiting for the law to be changed.
 
The bag limit for deer or antelope is one around here. Yet, your rifle can have more than threes rounds in it.
 
Originally posted by lamarw:

I believe this has been a Federal Law for Migratory bird hunting for as long as I have been alive.
Click to expand...


Same here.

It has nuttin' to do with whittlin' away at our 2nd Amendment right, just a hunting restriction like shot size, gauge size and the possession of a Federal and State waterfowl stamp. It's main reasoning is to give the birds a sporting chance.



Don't like it, buy a SxS and get over it.
 
It's not like it's illegal to own a shotgun that holds more than 3 rounds, you just can't hunt migratory birds with it unless you have the magazine plugged.
You also can't use an 8 gauge for migratory birds, even if it's only loaded with 1-1/8 ounce of shot.
You can hunt rabbits with it all you want though.

Personally, I believe the main advantage of an auto or pump over a double barrel is that it allows you to miss a bird three times instead of only twice.:D
 
The three shot limit applies to MIGRATORY birds and waterfowl. You can hunt small game with as many as the shotgun will hold.
Market hunting was over and they were trying to protect the birds on the early 1930's. Hunters back then would sneak up on a flock of ducks close to shore, a couple guys would stand up and ground swat the flock, and before they could get out of there they would shoot 5-6 times. Most of the hunters in that era weren't pass shooting. Only the "sport" hunters were using decoys and they were live decoys.
The old 97 win was designed to where you could hold the trigger back and just keep pumping until your 6 shots were gone. So they then passed laws where plugs are required limiting you to 3 shells.
As far as 2 amend attacks or death by a thousand cuts, there was no law passed where it prompted the installation of trigger disconnects on repeaters. The manufactures did that change on their own. Even way back then the 2 amend question was there and they would never have done it to restrict guns. Just don't make sense does it.
 
Some of the old Winchester Model 12 pump shotguns would also fire upon closing if you held the trigger back, at least the one that my great uncle had would.
 
ALL of the Model 12 Winchesters made before the 60s (possibly the late 50s, I don't know the exact date they were changed) lacked a disconnector.

Just like the earlier Model 97 the model 12 was developed from. If the trigger was held back when the action shut, it fires.

The later, and last production Model 12s (mostly trap grade guns) did have disconnectors. Modern Browning labeled Model 12 reproductions also have a disconnector.

Also, unplugged, the Model 12 magazine holds 6 (six) 2 3/4" 12 ga shells. My 16th birthday present was a Model 12 (made in the 1920s), over 40 years ago, and I still have it. Other guns, newer guns, look nicer, may feel slicker, but no shotgun could have given me any better performance than my old Model 12 has. Many other guns wouldn't have been as good.
 
The three shot limit applies to MIGRATORY birds and waterfowl. You can hunt small game with as many as the shotgun will hold.
Click to expand...

That depends on which state you live in. Here in GA they simplify things by limiting shotguns to 3 rounds for all small game hunting. In some ways it makes sense. When I'm afield with my shotgun I could be hunting squirrel, rabbit, quail and waterfowl all at the same time. And be legal if I only have non-toxic shot in my possession. Not exactly sure which, but quite a few states do the same. Probably close to about 1/2 from what I've seen.

I'm not aware of it actually ever being enforced, but the way the regulations read it was technically illegal to remove the plug from a shotgun here when hunting large game until fairly recently.

The law was addressed 4-5 years ago, but some idiot in the legislature worded the new law to say shotguns could hold 5 rounds, instead of the previous 3. Of course, they forgot about Mossberg and some others that are 5+1 instead of 4+1.
 
they simplify things by limiting shotguns to 3 rounds for all small game hunting.
Click to expand...

Yes, it is simpler to put everyone under the same restrictions. But is it right?

I see it as creeping incrementalism. Limit to 3 shots for ducks, ok....then a few years later, its 3 rounds for everything. Same with lead shot. Ban for waterfowl, and later, ban for everything.

Just wait a generation or two between increasing the restrictions, and hardly anyone notices, and fewer complain....
 
"...You can hunt small game with as many as the shotgun will hold..." Depending on where you are. Our bunch decided 3 is all you can use for hunting anything. Read your State hunting regs.
The "Federal law" is the U.S. legislation required by the treaty signed by your lot, ours and Mexico regarding the hunting of migratory birds. Dates from 1916.
The whole thing is about "sky busting" hunters. Theory is that if you can't hit the duck(or whatever) with 3 shots, 4 won't help. It has nothing to do with gun control. More about whooping cranes and the extinction of passenger pigeons.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top