Shotguns-pump-12

Despite the creative depictions released by Hollywood movie producers, most Old West sheriffs facing down outlaws would rely on a shotgun to give them a gunfight advantage.

At close range, a shotgun is simply the most effective weapon that anyone can put in their hands to defend themselves or their home. Point and shoot, rather than being concerned with maintaining a proper sight picture, gives a shotgun and its easily controlled pattern of shot a clear edge.

Toss in the fact that most shotgun loads, other than slugs, will do their self-preservation damage without passing through walls, and it is easy to see why many security officials recommend shotguns as the best home-defense firearm.

Remaining near the top of the list of recommended shotguns are pump-action firearms. As some experts relate: "The sound of a round being chambered in a pump action shotgun is one of the most chilling sounds you will ever hear.'' Even a homeowner with just a little experience on the range can be deadly with a shotgun fired across a room.

A load of bird shot produces a disabling or lethal pattern 12 to 15 inches in diameter at the typical distance of 20 feet or less, providing the home defender with a much wider range of error than with the single slug of a pistol or rifle.

Wingshooters are often torn in making a choice when they go shopping for a "field gun." Our definition of such a creature is a working shotgun, one which will suffer the ignominies of hard use banging around in a canoe, leaning up against barbed wire, or getting dropped in the dirt. The tension in the decision comes from the desire to buy a gun that works and which shoots well—those two qualities are musts—but also the desire to get the most for your money.

Two Armscor models function as well as we could ask, and similar guns from Norinco and Winchester are worth a look.

The storied Winchester 1897 brings a lot of memories to the Cowboy range, but the updated Chinese copy offers a lot for shooters to consider. Our pick: Go with the newer gun.

In a test of high-brass shell shuckers, we thought the Model 37 Waterfowler outdid the Mossberg 835 Ultra-Mag in crucial areas.

Ithaca's Turkeyslayer and Remington's Special Purpose Turkey gun also gain our favor, but at somewhat higher prices.

We think Mossberg's $307 Persuader is a better self-protection choice than similar models from Winchester and Remington.

The Scattergun Technologies' 12-gauge Standard model nonetheless rates a Buy It mark for its performance-to-price ratio.

When the government started requiring waterfowl hunters to use steel shot, shooters and the firearms industry quickly realized that 12 gauge steel loads didn't have as much power as the traditional lead shot loads. So, in the late 1980s, the Federal Cartridge Company became the first to produce 12 gauge 3 1/2-inch Magnum shotshells. Several other shotshell manufacturers have since followed suit.

Among the first shotgun makers to come out with a 3 1/2-inch model were Browning and Mossberg. Today, nearly every company that manufactures scatterguns offers at least one such firearm. All kinds of shotguns, from the inexpensive single-shot model to the high-priced over/under, are chambered for the big shell.

Many hunters haven't warmed up to the 12 gauge 3 1/2-inch shotgun, but its popularity is growing. One reason for this is because it will fire all types of shotshells from 2 3/4-inch up to 3 1/2-inch. Consequently, the shotgun is very versatile.

The need for a shotgun that can handle 3.5-inch magnum loads appears to be increasing, as more shooters determine they need the maximum load of steel shot they can manage for waterfowl shooting. Gun makers are being sure to chamber their shotgun offerings for the full-length shotshell with its 1 9/16-ounce of steel capability. The prime users of these long-chambered guns seem to be waterfowlers, who forego the 10-gauge guns because, presumably, they want to use their duck guns for other things that the 10 can't do very well. These uses include upland hunting, casual trap, even Sporting Clays to sharpen the eye in the off season.

The manufacturer's challenge is to make a gun that can, at l...

[IMGCAP(1)] Twelve-gauge pump shotguns are an American tradition. They sure don't have the class of a good double, but they're hard to beat for knock-around utility. If you think in terms of wanting a shotgun to throw in the bottom of the boat for a day's poking around the local waters, the pump is a good and usually inexpensive choice. Add the versatility of insert choke tubes, and you can tailor the gun to the game season at hand. Moreover, today's pump will often have a polymer (plastic) stock, because they're cheaper than walnut and perhaps more durable, and they offer the added benefit of reduced visibility. If you're after a matte-black-finished, all-around pump shotgun, why not have t...

[IMGCAP(1)] Spring turkey season brings good adventure and, hopefully, good food to the table for those who venture forth after this big bird. Many, if not most, spring turkey hunters use shotguns (some states permit rifles, some mandate shotguns), and they generally take head shots with Full- or Extra Full-choked barrels at moderate ranges. Range depends on the individual hunter's skill in calling, the pattern produced by his shotgun, and of course the evasive luck of the chase. No matter the range, the shotgun-equipped turkey hunter must do some very accurate pointing, holding, and squeezing off of the shot. At very close range a shotgun works more like a rifle than a "scatter" gun, and on...