Gun advice
03-01-2021, 10:34 AM
#1
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Choctaw, Oklahoma
Posts: 1,341
Gun advice
What is everyone's go to for waterfowl? I just started getting serious with it and purchased a Stoeger m3500 for this past season and it has served me well with only a few hiccups. I am passing the idea around to possibly upgrade and hand this one to my boy or wife for when they comes with me.
03-01-2021, 06:52 PM
#4
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Trumbull County, Ohio
Posts: 9,300
I don't think there's a wrong answer here. Just depends on what you want and the budget!
Things are crazy in gun shops right now but I'd try to get to a big one and handle a few options and see what feels right. Allot of shooting a shotgun well really comes down to how it fits you.
-Jake
Things are crazy in gun shops right now but I'd try to get to a big one and handle a few options and see what feels right. Allot of shooting a shotgun well really comes down to how it fits you.
-Jake
03-02-2021, 12:59 AM
#5
Spike
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Lower Eastern Shore
Posts: 23
I started off with a Remington 870, switched over to a Benelli Super Black Eagle. Now the 870 is back to my main gun after a particularly cold wet day kept freezing the bolt up on the Benelli, while my buddy and his Mossberg kept going. And I have found that I am actually faster with the pump than I am with the semi.
03-03-2021, 05:49 AM
#6
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Choctaw, Oklahoma
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I started off with a Remington 870, switched over to a Benelli Super Black Eagle. Now the 870 is back to my main gun after a particularly cold wet day kept freezing the bolt up on the Benelli, while my buddy and his Mossberg kept going. And I have found that I am actually faster with the pump than I am with the semi.
Same thing happened to the Stoeger. It would go click and strike the primer but very soft. The round would go off but not all the powder would burn and the wad wouldn't make it out the barrel. Wonder if its a flaw of the inertia system? I gave it a good cleaning and didn't have anymore single digit mornings and never had another problem. Even took a spill in the thick mud in Cali and still worked well after rinsing it off in the marsh lol.
03-03-2021, 05:53 AM
#7
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Choctaw, Oklahoma
Posts: 1,341
I don't think there's a wrong answer here. Just depends on what you want and the budget!
Things are crazy in gun shops right now but I'd try to get to a big one and handle a few options and see what feels right. Allot of shooting a shotgun well really comes down to how it fits you.
-Jake
Things are crazy in gun shops right now but I'd try to get to a big one and handle a few options and see what feels right. Allot of shooting a shotgun well really comes down to how it fits you.
-Jake
Unfortunately most of the gun shops here are all about sales so even if I asked their advice I'm not too confident they would give an honest answer and try to push me toward the most expensive model lol.
03-03-2021, 06:21 AM
#8
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Trumbull County, Ohio
Posts: 9,300
https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2...-fit-a-shotgun
This link will give you a little more in depth answer.
For most people you don't really need to overthink it. If you pick up 5 different shotguns, shoulder them several times each, you will likely feel a few that feel really natural and a few that you feel like you're searching for the bead. It should shoulder naturally and the sights should come into your line of sight. If you are having to search for the sights ( raise, lower, tilt your head) to find them then something isn't fitting correctly.
Keep in mind that if you try the guns out in a shop while wearing flip flops and a t-shirt it might (it WILL) feel a little different when you are dressed for 5deg weather.
Manufactures make a general fit that fits most of the population. But there are still slight variances between them that you may prefer by handling lots of guns. VS just taking recommendations online.
I PERSONALLY prefer a pump. For it's reliability and simplicity and just because that's what I grew up shooting and have thousands of rounds through. But there are lots of auto loaders out there with pretty good track records as well.
-Jake
This link will give you a little more in depth answer.
For most people you don't really need to overthink it. If you pick up 5 different shotguns, shoulder them several times each, you will likely feel a few that feel really natural and a few that you feel like you're searching for the bead. It should shoulder naturally and the sights should come into your line of sight. If you are having to search for the sights ( raise, lower, tilt your head) to find them then something isn't fitting correctly.
Keep in mind that if you try the guns out in a shop while wearing flip flops and a t-shirt it might (it WILL) feel a little different when you are dressed for 5deg weather.
Manufactures make a general fit that fits most of the population. But there are still slight variances between them that you may prefer by handling lots of guns. VS just taking recommendations online.
I PERSONALLY prefer a pump. For it's reliability and simplicity and just because that's what I grew up shooting and have thousands of rounds through. But there are lots of auto loaders out there with pretty good track records as well.
-Jake
03-03-2021, 06:37 AM
#9
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 2,743
My question here would be how serious do you plan to get on waterfowl?
and what loads do you plan to shoot
2-3/4"-3" or 3.5 inch??
and are you wanting a gun that will hunt other things?
or be a strictly a waterfowl gun
dedicated to steel shot and likes?
I mean I will never say I was a Die hard duck/goose hunter, but I have traveled a lot of places chasing them and hunting them
But I simply used a shotgun I already had and just made it work
none of the geese or ducks i shot I think noticed LOL
I simply used a rem 11/87, and has a extra barrel camo coated, and a good choke ( forget what exact model) that gave me good patterns with the round of my using!
then if I wanted to hunt other things with same gun, I was just swapping barrels
but I think you can do this to about any gun you like, as long a sit cycles your round of choice
so many options on chokes these days, one can make things better by swapping them to match your load!
I would want a gun that fits ME better, than buying one that is claimed to be a better so called waterfowl gun?
thing one might want in a dedicated waterfowl gun, would be a durable finish
which again, can be added to a gun you already have if wanted
when you get into more true dedicated design 3.5 guns, the price tags rice up and like most higher end guns, they tend to work well, but fit is more what is an individual deal maker or breaker
so, its about going and handling them and see what you like best
all the top guns from brand name makers are GOOD shotguns these days!, many models have been around a LONG time due to this reason
NOW if your not sure what a GOOD fitting shotgun is or means
I'd suggest going to a GOOD gun shop that has a good shooting instructor that can show you , while your there while holding different guns to see and know what and where things are off , so you get the info and understand it better
but everyone has what they feel is GOOD for hem when shouldering things
basically I tell folks, see how things feel when you shoulder gun with your eyes closed and then open them, after settled in
where are sights, where is your hand on stock, shoulder on stock, cheek on stock, finger on trigger, safety?
the more things that line up for you the better fitting the gun maybe is for you!
keep in mind that when shouldering guns in shops, make sure your wearing like clothing you will be hunting in
as layers of clothes can sure change how a gun fits you!
I would also suggest this,
when your buying a HIGHER end shotgun, its worth yourt time and $$ to find a GOOD shop that knows shotgun and fitting of them
there are shops that cater to HIGHER end shotguns, and stock hundreds if not thousands of them in stock(I know of a few, but none in your area) think places that cater to sporting clay and skeet shooters on a larger level!
but going to a shop like this, that has tons of high end over under/side by sides
you tend to get more knowledgeable folks on shotgun fitting!
not to mention you get top FEEL the differences in designs in shotgun stocks!
when I had my shop, I sent a LOT of buyers to a shop about 5 hours away from em to go see and handle and select a gun that fit them
some DID buy there, MANY came back to me and I ordered the gun for them!
as honestly, many shops that stock THAT much high end inventory, have HIGHER price tags than I did on same guns!
so, I never was scared to send a customer to another shop,
the customer typically won, they got to learn and handle guns they were considering before buying, making sure it fit and they wanted it
they also got to see a selection of guns, most never even knew existed
and then came back to me to buy an save $$$ and got the gun of there dreams or one they just wanted that fit like a glove!
if you have any GOOD sporting clays courses near you, many of them places have good on sight shops that sell and know how to fit a GUN to you!
or know of shops that can
over just a basic gun shop/smith!
and what loads do you plan to shoot
2-3/4"-3" or 3.5 inch??
and are you wanting a gun that will hunt other things?
or be a strictly a waterfowl gun
dedicated to steel shot and likes?
I mean I will never say I was a Die hard duck/goose hunter, but I have traveled a lot of places chasing them and hunting them
But I simply used a shotgun I already had and just made it work
none of the geese or ducks i shot I think noticed LOL
I simply used a rem 11/87, and has a extra barrel camo coated, and a good choke ( forget what exact model) that gave me good patterns with the round of my using!
then if I wanted to hunt other things with same gun, I was just swapping barrels
but I think you can do this to about any gun you like, as long a sit cycles your round of choice
so many options on chokes these days, one can make things better by swapping them to match your load!
I would want a gun that fits ME better, than buying one that is claimed to be a better so called waterfowl gun?
thing one might want in a dedicated waterfowl gun, would be a durable finish
which again, can be added to a gun you already have if wanted
when you get into more true dedicated design 3.5 guns, the price tags rice up and like most higher end guns, they tend to work well, but fit is more what is an individual deal maker or breaker
so, its about going and handling them and see what you like best
all the top guns from brand name makers are GOOD shotguns these days!, many models have been around a LONG time due to this reason
NOW if your not sure what a GOOD fitting shotgun is or means
I'd suggest going to a GOOD gun shop that has a good shooting instructor that can show you , while your there while holding different guns to see and know what and where things are off , so you get the info and understand it better
but everyone has what they feel is GOOD for hem when shouldering things
basically I tell folks, see how things feel when you shoulder gun with your eyes closed and then open them, after settled in
where are sights, where is your hand on stock, shoulder on stock, cheek on stock, finger on trigger, safety?
the more things that line up for you the better fitting the gun maybe is for you!
keep in mind that when shouldering guns in shops, make sure your wearing like clothing you will be hunting in
as layers of clothes can sure change how a gun fits you!
I would also suggest this,
when your buying a HIGHER end shotgun, its worth yourt time and $$ to find a GOOD shop that knows shotgun and fitting of them
there are shops that cater to HIGHER end shotguns, and stock hundreds if not thousands of them in stock(I know of a few, but none in your area) think places that cater to sporting clay and skeet shooters on a larger level!
but going to a shop like this, that has tons of high end over under/side by sides
you tend to get more knowledgeable folks on shotgun fitting!
not to mention you get top FEEL the differences in designs in shotgun stocks!
when I had my shop, I sent a LOT of buyers to a shop about 5 hours away from em to go see and handle and select a gun that fit them
some DID buy there, MANY came back to me and I ordered the gun for them!
as honestly, many shops that stock THAT much high end inventory, have HIGHER price tags than I did on same guns!
so, I never was scared to send a customer to another shop,
the customer typically won, they got to learn and handle guns they were considering before buying, making sure it fit and they wanted it
they also got to see a selection of guns, most never even knew existed
and then came back to me to buy an save $$$ and got the gun of there dreams or one they just wanted that fit like a glove!
if you have any GOOD sporting clays courses near you, many of them places have good on sight shops that sell and know how to fit a GUN to you!
or know of shops that can
over just a basic gun shop/smith!
