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Joined: Dec 2003
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Sidelock
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OP
Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,540 Likes: 3 |
picked up an old mossberg 395K bolt action real cheap for testing reloads that aren't quite out of the manuals (not the topic of this thread so argue the wisdom of that somewhere else). took it to the range and was first time i'd used a b/a shotgun. ran 23/25 at pasture trap, low gun safety on (not the topic of this thread either) pulling a permanently set up trap for myself with a lanyard.
by all rights, this gun doesn't look like much. birch instead of walnut, homely to most. but it handled great, fit well, was easy to hit with, went bang every time, ejected and fed flawlessly. the only thing missing was aesthetics.
contrast that with the last sxs i got rid of - a winchester model 23 pigeon 12. good looking i guess and worked fine but i'd have been lucky to shoot myself in the foot. i think the best i ever did at pasture trap was 19/25 and if you can't hit pasture trap you're not going to hit much of anything.
by my reckoning, first and foremost a gun has to be totally reliable. next it has to fit well enough that it's useable by the shooter. everything else is gravy and only thing really left is looks. i can only conclude the mossberg is a fine firearm and the model 23 is a dog. i realize results may vary but i've owned three 23's and shot none well.
but what i was really getting at here is how surprised i was by how capable a firearm the lowly b/a shotgun can be. i'm sure they're looked down upon as cheap and (usually) ugly but people who've used them for hunting could have done much, much worse. at least in this case, the performance far exceeded the cost. 50 lousy bucks. what can you get for 50 bucks that performs that well.
regarding some rifle cartridge, john wooters once remarked "you can't argue with a dead deer." i'll paraphrase that: "you can't argue with a pile of shattered targets."
roger
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
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Roger,
A couple of years ago a gentleman showed up at the trap range with what I think was a Stevens single shot made for Sears. He paid his money and when his turn came he walked out and broke 25 straight. He left without a word and as best I could tell nothing was said to him. I have felt bad I said nothing either, but when a fellow does such a thing you sorta expect him to hang around a bit. Now he may have regularly shot a Perazzi and just wanted to reminisce with the first gun he owned or perhaps he was just warming up his gun for the pheasant season? Anyway that gun fit him well too. I found that all my guns are the same-keeping me humble.
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 5,983
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 5,983 |
picked up an old mossberg 395K bolt action real cheap for testing reloads that aren't quite out of the manuals (not the topic of this thread so argue the wisdom of that somewhere else). took it to the range and was first time i'd used a b/a shotgun. ran 23/25 at pasture trap, low gun safety on (not the topic of this thread either) pulling a permanently set up trap for myself with a lanyard.
by all rights, this gun doesn't look like much. birch instead of walnut, homely to most. but it handled great, fit well, was easy to hit with, went bang every time, ejected and fed flawlessly. the only thing missing was aesthetics.
contrast that with the last sxs i got rid of - a winchester model 23 pigeon 12. good looking i guess and worked fine but i'd have been lucky to shoot myself in the foot. i think the best i ever did at pasture trap was 19/25 and if you can't hit pasture trap you're not going to hit much of anything.
by my reckoning, first and foremost a gun has to be totally reliable. next it has to fit well enough that it's useable by the shooter. everything else is gravy and only thing really left is looks. i can only conclude the mossberg is a fine firearm and the model 23 is a dog. i realize results may vary but i've owned three 23's and shot none well.
but what i was really getting at here is how surprised i was by how capable a firearm the lowly b/a shotgun can be. i'm sure they're looked down upon as cheap and (usually) ugly but people who've used them for hunting could have done much, much worse. at least in this case, the performance far exceeded the cost. 50 lousy bucks. what can you get for 50 bucks that performs that well.
regarding some rifle cartridge, john wooters once remarked "you can't argue with a dead deer." i'll paraphrase that: "you can't argue with a pile of shattered targets."
roger
It does say "other FINE firearms", but it's certainly OK by me.
> Jim Legg <
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 725
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 725 |
Any gun the shoots that good is a fine firearm to my thinking,
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 6,558 Likes: 164
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 6,558 Likes: 164 |
It happens all the time. You have a trap gun that you shoot and decide to bring out some off brand to shoot a round of trap with and you run them all. But, it usually doesn't last for long. My theory is that one's level of attention increases way above the normal for a few rounds, but if you use it for very long, the scores will start to drop back down to where they should be. You start flincing because the gun is too light and you can't take the beating like you could with a heavy trap gun so you start pulling your head off of the gun or your neck gets tired because you are bending it out of whack to fit yourself to the gun instead of the gun fitting you. etc., etc. It might shoot good for a while but chances are, it won't last long. Just my experience. But, they are fun to shoot and hunt with. So, good luck with your new gun. Have fun.
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Joined: Apr 2008
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Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Apr 2008
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That is a problem, finding a cheap little ugly gun that you shoot better than your fine double. What will the boys say? 
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,540 Likes: 3
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,540 Likes: 3 |
i did have better sense than to try doubles with it. the permanent traps the range i belong to has set up, you have to get the first one in about 15 yds, 20 max and by then the other is falling and i pretty much suck at falling targets.
and i doubt i could have worked the bolt that fast. in fact, the only gun i've owned since belonging out there that i could reliably get doubles on was a 16 ga remington model 31 with a polychoke. i love model 12's but i don't believe they're as fast as a 31. and a savage 430 o/u that my dad has now.
23's, i've done everything i could to like. had a golden quail 12 and a classic 20 back when they were being made and were lovely guns. i never did figure out what wasn't "right" about them for me.
Jimmy, who said this mossberg is light? is 7.5# which is right on what i like. i see no reason to think it's performance will degrade. usually the way it works is the more i shoot something the easier it is to hit with. if i can shoot it at all the first time i pick it up, that's always been a good sign so far.
roger
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 6,558 Likes: 164
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 6,558 Likes: 164 |
Yes, the Mossberg should be pretty heavy- when I was talking about a light gun I was talking about the Stevens that ben-t mentioned......I also have a friend who shoots skeet with a Model 31 and at 72 years old he breezes right through them. Many people will say the 31 is superior to the Model 12. But, if you do OK with the Mossberg- more power to you.
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Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jun 2002
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I think you're right on, Jimmy. I've noticed it in guns and aircraft, too. When the weather's dirty and you have to bear down, outcomes with plow horses compare with racehorses.
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 7,438 Likes: 1
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 7,438 Likes: 1 |
I still think these B/A shotguns make very good sense in the States that are shotgun only for deer hunting. I would have gone that route myself if I wasn't a lefty.
Jim
The 2nd Amendment IS an unalienable right.
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