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Can i hunt deer in MA with a pistolgrip shotgun?

Jfrog said:
Just so I can clear up the confusion it is a pistol grip and stock. As far as the ethics go I plan on using slugs either that or Buckshot with a choke it is an 18.5 inch barrel I for sure would be more confident with a 24-inch Barrel and I'm certainly no advocate for animal suffering but I do feel like a rifled slug should have the required stopping power my biggest worry was whether Massachusetts was going to try and call it an assault shotgun and therefore not suitable for hunting since we can't even hunt deer with a rifle it's kind of an obscure shotgun so I wasn't able to find any larger Barrel options than what it came with I got the shotgun in a trade for a cheap pistol. Had I more options I probably would have gone with a Mossberg. I can say I won't be hunting alone and me and my buddy are probably both going to try and drop a shot on at the same time if we're next to each other
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Just in case
ABE5408B-40EA-423F-BA38-0C6C069307F7.jpeg
 
enbloc said:
The way this thread previews in my "Forum List" is:

Can i hunt deer in MA with a pistol...​


I thought this was going to be a pistol hunting thread.
Click to expand...
As we referred to my father's Dan Wesson wheelguns for deer hunting,
"go ahead Bambi, make my day".

Broccoli Iglesias said:
If you are man enough, you can try a single shot, like the men that tamed America used.
Click to expand...
Do tell.

tuna said:
Thanks for explaining it. Welcome to NES.

Makes sense to think that something completely innocent would be illegal in Massachusetts - but in this case it isn't, yet.
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5vz5y5.jpg
 
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Jfrog said:
Just so I can clear up the confusion it is a pistol grip and stock. As far as the ethics go I plan on using slugs either that or Buckshot with a choke it is an 18.5 inch barrel I for sure would be more confident with a 24-inch Barrel and I'm certainly no advocate for animal suffering but I do feel like a rifled slug should have the required stopping power my biggest worry was whether Massachusetts was going to try and call it an assault shotgun and therefore not suitable for hunting since we can't even hunt deer with a rifle it's kind of an obscure shotgun so I wasn't able to find any larger Barrel options than what it came with I got the shotgun in a trade for a cheap pistol. Had I more options I probably would have gone with a Mossberg. I can say I won't be hunting alone and me and my buddy are probably both going to try and drop a shot on at the same time if we're next to each other
Click to expand...

FYI:

If you are going to use buckshot please pattern it first. The pattern will likely open up sooner and faster than you think.

Slugs only for black bear if you have a tag.

Good luck,

Bob
 
This thing is a master class deer slayer... This combo is pinpoint accurate out to 100 yards. Haven't been able to find the slugs in a while. I'm stocked up though.. Got enough for several more years.

Can you hunt with a pistol grip & stock... I wouldn't hunt deer without that exact setup... I think she's about 22 years old and counting... I had to refinish her some time ago. DuraCoat applied with an air brush. The original factory finish wore off in some places and I didn't want her to rust. She's one of a kind!

385 grain slug moving at 1900 fps knocks em down damn quick...

She's bad ass.....

I am not a fan of rifle-style grips unless I'm hunting something that flies. They would be okay on a goose cannon. But ground and pound or from a stand aiming down........ pistol grip all day every day.
 

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If you intend to fire slugs out of it , do not put a choke on there .
Slugs are ment to be fired from cylinder bore barrels.
I might have missed if you stated the length of the barrel.
18" should shoot fine with slugs, buckshot not so much.
A 21" barrel should do both fine.
Like someone else pointed out , pattern the thing at various ranges to see what you have for spread.
Also try some different brands of slugs .
My Mossburg loves Winchester 1 oz. rifled slugs but is all over the place with Brenneke.
 
Dadstoys said:
If you intend to fire slugs out of it , do not put a choke on there .
Slugs are ment to be fired from cylinder bore barrels.
I might have missed if you stated the length of the barrel.
18" should shoot fine with slugs, buckshot not so much.
A 21" barrel should do both fine.
Like someone else pointed out , pattern the thing at various ranges to see what you have for spread.
Click to expand...
Depends on the gun. My old mossberg 500 instruction manual stated slugs were ok up to mod choke.....

Used to have an even older mossberg 500 with a fixed full choke and that manual said slugs were ok and I killed many deer using slugs from that fixed full choke barrel.

Read the owners manual...it'll let you know what u can use. a blanket statement of cylinder bore for slugs isn't necessarily true.
 
whacko said:
Ok. That's impressive.

Still....hitting clays with target loads at the club is far different than trying to hit the engine room of a deer at distance.....you know.....hunter ethics and all. 🙄
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Right , nothing save ethical like sending buck shot down through the brambles at the brown blur? Lol
OP go ahead load up sime slugs and find a pushing party you have a good chance at NOT being the worst shot. Lol
Im sorta not kidding
 
Jfrog said:
....me and my buddy are probably both going to try and drop a shot on at the same time if we're next to each other
Click to expand...

Naaa....don't do that. You'll waste meat.

I suggest using slugs, not buckshot. Lotsa tasty mule deer dropped in their tracks when hit with a 20 gauge slug from my single shot Savage. 20" barrel and open sights. I miss that gun.
 
whacko said:
Depends on the gun. My old mossberg 500 instruction manual stated slugs were ok up to mod choke.....

Used to have an even older mossberg 500 with a fixed full choke and that manual said slugs were ok and I killed many deer using slugs from that fixed full choke barrel.

Read the owners manual...it'll let you know what u can use. a blanket statement of cylinder bore for slugs isn't necessarily true.
Click to expand...
It's not that you can't , but it does say right on a lot of slug boxes to use cylinder bore only.
I do know one guy who blew the screw in choke right out of the gun doing that .
I know another who was shooting slugs out of a full choke barrel and developed a visable bulge at the end of the barrel.
It didn't blow up or anything , but damn.
 
All my shotguns have fixed chokes, with either modified or improved and they've done fine with hundreds of slugs. Maybe screw in chokes have a bit more trouble?
 
www.ammunitiontogo.com

Rifled Slugs vs. Sabot Slugs - The Lodge at AmmoToGo.com

What's the difference between a sabot and rifled slug? Let's look at the advantages of each, barrels you can use and why you might pick one over the other.
www.ammunitiontogo.com www.ammunitiontogo.com

From the article:

So why use rifled slugs at all? The groves in the slug actually allow the projectile to fit through different chokes. This allows hunters to use various barrels and still fire slugs. Without the grooves, the slug would cause greater friction in the barrel and would not function in various choke sizes.
Click to expand...
 

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