Deer Shotgun shopping help

[millbilly]

I am looking for suggestions for a new shotgun. I began hunting with a group that pushes deer through thick scrub oak and scrub pine. Shots are fairly close. I own a remington 870 with a 26" barrel and only a front bead. I am looking for something with a shorter barrel that is easy to swing in the thick growth. Barrel no longer than 24", preferably 20"-24". I would prefer a semi auto and composite stock. It would need to have sights, or maybe just holes tapped for some type of red dot sight. I will be shooting mostly buckshot. I would like to buy a shotgun that has all the features I want out of the box. Any suggestions?

 

[Adamant2010]

Get a 20 inch tube for that 870 with rifle sights. No need to buy another gun when you can switch barrels in minutes, and with out tools.

This would be the cheapest/best way to go and will serve its purpose well!

 

[millbilly]

You guys are ruining my excuse to buy myself a new shotgun! Thanks for the advice. Something like this i suppose would save me some money. http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/product/94622
I am still interested in something in semi auto with composite stock too though.

 

[Coyote33]

I'm looking for something shorter than my 28" vent rib, but was thinking 20" might be too short. Do they make a 22"?

Also, I want the blued, not matte finish.

Also, 2 3/4 chamber.

Slim pickens.

 

[pupchow]

Remington V3 (Tactical, when available)

 

[OIFer]

a

 

[71montess]

if you absolutely HAVE to buy something, buy a thompson center omega muzzle loader,

they shoot better than a shotgun and you can hunt with it during shotgun season and continue through muzzloader season as well.

You can use a muzzle loader for shotgun too ? Any restriction in caliber ?

 

[dogdoctor]

You can use a muzzle loader for shotgun too ? Any restriction in caliber ?

Mass:
Archery in Archery, Shotgun, Muzzleloader
Muzzleloader in Shotgun, Muzzleloader
Shotgun in Shotgun

Muzzleloader no smaller than .44 and no larger than .775 and a barrel 18" or greater.

 

[That Guy]

if you absolutely HAVE to buy something, buy a thompson center omega muzzle loader,

they shoot better than a shotgun and you can hunt with it during shotgun season and continue through muzzloader season as well.

Seconded.

Even better, buy a rifle and hunt in Maine.

 

[Rondawg]

That barrel is a smoothbore, no rifling. Ok for shorter distances but a rifled barrel will give you better accuracy for longer shots.

 

[dixidawg]

He needs smoothbore if he will be shooting mostly buckshot as stated in the OP.

 

[robjax]

this should work for a deer.

http://www.benelliusa.com/m4-tactical-shotgun

 

[millbilly]

Thanks. I all ready own a Thompson for primitive arms season. It is a nice gun. I am looking for a 12g semi that all ready comes with a shorter smooth bore barrel and sights. The deer jump up at like 20 yards running/jumping. Preferably composite stocked and camo. Everything like this that I've found is black tactical pistol grip. If im going to spend a lot of $ on a new gun I'd rather not have to swap out the barrel or stock afterwards. I've considered a new barrel for my 870 but I'd still have a pump gun that quite frankly looks like it was made in a cheap Chinese factory.

 

[MisterHappy]

There's minimal difference in terms of ballistic performance between an 18 and a 22 inch barrel.

If you're shooting up close, in thick cover, you'll be good to go.


as for the muzzle loader in shotgun season, read the abstracts as to what is allowable for a BP long gun. There are caliber restrictions, to be aware of, whether it's rifled or smoothbore.

http://www.eregulations.com/massachusetts/huntingandfishing/deer/

 

[robjax]

http://www.armslist.com/posts/19328...hotguns-for-sale--benelli-super-black-eagle-1


How about this gun? This is semi and camo....

 

[Woodstock]

Let's see - bunch of guys in thick scrub oak and pine, deer blowing through on the run, and you with a semi auto full of buckshot. What could possibly go wrong?

 

[dgrafton]

if you absolutely HAVE to buy something, buy a thompson center omega muzzle loader,

they shoot better than a shotgun and you can hunt with it during shotgun season and continue through muzzloader season as well.

Not what the op is looking for at all, and not the best choice for his hunting method. He specifically stated he wants a semi to shoot buckshot, which is a good choice for pushing through scrub oak.

 

[dgrafton]

I would go with a short barreled turkey gun in semi-auto, whichever brand you like. Then try different choke tubes with the buckshot load you will be using to see which gives the best pattern out to your maximum expected range.

 

[whacko]

Seconded.

Even better, buy a rifle and hunt in Maine.

maine.....one buck tag.....mass 2 bucks and a doe tag......ill stick with my shotgun in mass thank you.

 

[sibort]

Always loved my 870 since I got it when I was 16. Ain't nuthin fancy. Will plow through the worst of laurel (not that I enjoy it) with it, drag it through swamps and not care. It's a great tool and has shot great every time. Never put buck shot through it though. I like slugs. Have a hard time getting myself to replace it with something fancy and more expensive. Yes, I have my slug and bird barrels. I guess it's a matter of preference like anything.

 

[whacko]

I agree, and will go one further, Here in the northeast and New England in particular very rarely is a deer shot over 50 yards away. So a shotgun with rifle sights or scope( For those of us with older eyes) using slugs will do the trick, without the worry of all those .32cal. pellets hitting what they were shot at. I am not saying don't rifle hunt, just don't let one thing get wrapped around axle.

doesnt need to be a 12g slug either. My wife and i harvested a deer each this last fall both with remington 20 g "sluggers"....probably the cheapest slugs out there but our guns shot them well. My deer made it 40 yards and went down. Hers hit the ground like a ton of bricks and didnt even quiver! A 20g slug is a devastating projectile out to about 75 yards and the recoil is much more manageable.

 

[turbo38gn]

doesnt need to be a 12g slug either. My wife and i harvested a deer each this last fall both with remington 20 g "sluggers"....probably the cheapest slugs out there but our guns shot them well. My deer made it 40 yards and went down. Hers hit the ground like a ton of bricks and didnt even quiver! A 20g slug is a devastating projectile out to about 75 yards and the recoil is much more manageable.

I'm with you on the 20ga.... I dropped a deer at 155yds last year with my Remington pump... couldn't believe it... using Hornady slugs..

If it's a 12ga semi the OP wants... I might recommend the Mossberg 930 semi auto, I purchased the Jerry Micaluk version, 20" barrel and holds like 9 shells... he can really light up the woods with this one... heck.... he might even make the news with one of these.. cheap money for an excellent SG... think I paid like $600-650 new for mine..

 

[Mike-Mike]

doesnt need to be a 12g slug either. My wife and i harvested a deer each this last fall both with remington 20 g "sluggers"....probably the cheapest slugs out there but our guns shot them well. My deer made it 40 yards and went down. Hers hit the ground like a ton of bricks and didnt even quiver! A 20g slug is a devastating projectile out to about 75 yards and the recoil is much more manageable.

No doubt a bout this! .. I find most shot gunners also want to also use their gun for other things. This is why 12 is a nice option as it opens the doors to waterfowl, turkey, coyote etc by having a shell with a little more room in it.

 

[turbo38gn]

Check out this deal.... http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/37/products_id/82559

my local dealer, had me one in 24hr.. awesome gun... reviews are excellent

 

[Bt74]

doesnt need to be a 12g slug either. My wife and i harvested a deer each this last fall both with remington 20 g "sluggers"....probably the cheapest slugs out there but our guns shot them well. My deer made it 40 yards and went down. Hers hit the ground like a ton of bricks and didnt even quiver! A 20g slug is a devastating projectile out to about 75 yards and the recoil is much more manageable.

I've shot about half a dozen deer with a 20 ga. ...all slugs, I use winchester sabots through a rifled barrel, have never recovered a slug, all have passed through with devastating effects. If you can't drop a deer with a 20 ga, a 12 will not do you any better.

 

[M60]

I've hunted the scrub oak and pie that you hunt. If you've hunted Nantucket, you know what I'm talking about. I wouldn't be to concerned about having a prettier shotgun in that stuff. Besides, after a hard season in that scrub, your new shotgun wouldn't be pretty anymore. I use a Remington 1100 lightweight , with a rifled barrel and Hornady rifled sabot slugs in open areas like cranberry bog country because they reach out much better than anything that I've found. Crazy accurate and one shot deer stoppers too. In that scrub, I wouldn't want to use an auto, or a pretty shotgun. To many sticks and things to fall into the action and jam it up. You know, check your pockets after hunting in that stuff and you find lots of sticks and things in them. I use a 870 in that crap. My preference is for lead slugs and a smooth bore in that stuff though. With buddies pushing towards me, or me to towards them, we agreed that 00 buck is to dangerous for us, not the deer. But that's just us. By the way, my 870 scrub country shotgun is a beater that never fails. Take 2 shotguns with you if you want a new auto. One for scrub and one for more opened areas. Works for me.

 

[admcd]

Get a 20 inch tube for that 870 with rifle sights. No need to buy another gun when you can switch barrels in minutes, and with out tools.

This is what I'm planning on doing for this fall. You can get them on ebay pretty cheap, too.

 

[ThePreBanMan]

I have an 11-87 that I've had for about 15 or so years. Last year it failed in the field and wouldn't cycle. Springs in the trigger assembly / feed ramp were tired. Ended up replacing the entire trigger assembly with a new "tactical" unit from Remmy. Basically has a longer feed ramp/button. Point being though - I doubt I would have had cycle problems with an 870. Fortunately I only needed the one shot. Year before I tagged a buck and only needed a single shot for that too. Was shooting slugs - 12 gauge Remington Premier Accu-Tips in 3" magnum. 385 grain slug at 1900 FPS. Oorah! No exit holes. That slug deposited 100% of it's energy into the animal - which is what I'm after. Exits are wasted energy. this sin't archery. You don't want pass throughs with a firearm.
Semi for deer hunting isn't necessary IMHO.

 

[whacko]

You ought try the 3" slugs through a pump gun, it will roll your eyeballs, The auto bleeds off enough gas and the action provides "some" cushion, But not with pump gun.

I have found that 3 inch turkey loads are worse than 3 inch slugs. And 3 1/2 inch anything is just stuuuuuupid. Pulled the trigger once on one of those and thatll be the last time

 

[Coyote33]

Looking for a 22" deer barrel for 2 3/4 shells, but in blued, not matte. Either I'm looking wrong, or something. Most seem to be for 3" or matte, or both. For an 870.