[Action_Can_Do]

Well, I guess the title says it all.

[Justin]

I believe that Remington still makes a couple of models in 10 Ga. Might check their website.

[bearman49709]

Browing make's the gold and bps in 10ga.

[Dimis]

i know there are still single shot break action 10s but i cant remember if they are from new england firearms or who

[chas08]

Yes, Remington, Browning, and H&R

[Action_Can_Do]

Does the 10 have varying shell lengths like the 12 does? I know next to nothing about the 10 gauge.

[scchokedaddy]

nope 3.5 only

[Virginian]

You may find some old 2-7/8" 10 gauge shells and/or loading data for them, but the only factory loads I am aware of are the 3-1/2" ones today.

[natman]

Unless you are a dyed-in-the-wool long distance waterfowl hunter, there is no point in the expense and weight of a 10 ga. Almost anything else can be done just as well or better with a lighter and cheaper 12 ga.

[chas08]

Unless you are a dyed-in-the-wool long distance waterfowl hunter, there is no point in the expense and weight of a 10 ga.That for the most part is true. The ten is unequalled when it comes to taking Geese at long range with large steel shot. It puts a pattern density at distance with T-shot that not even a 3.5" 12ga can equal. I own both and have patterned them at 50, 60 and 80 yds just to see what they do. The 10 has always won. With that said, the 10 is a specialty gauge, not very good at multiple tasks. I enjoy owning the two that I have, a BPS for the last 20+years and a recently aquired SP-10 that I just couldn't pass up because the price was so right. Unless you're a hard core Goose hunter, or just like owning gauges that you don't see that often, there's not much reason to own one. I unfortunately suffer from both maladies.

[ArmedBear]

Note that Mossberg doesn't make a 10 Gauge, but it does make pump and auto 12 Gauge 3.5" waterfowl guns that have the bore size of a 10 Gauge, so you can use a wider variety of ammo and still get a 10 Gauge pattern from a heavy load.

[chas08]

Note that Mossberg doesn't make a 10 Gauge, but it does make pump and auto 12 Gauge 3.5" waterfowl guns that have the bore size of a 10 Gauge, so you can use a wider variety of ammo and still get a 10 Gauge pattern from a heavy load. The trade off there is you have a 12ga that handles more like a 10. The 835 that I shot must have weighed 8lb or so empty, it was heavy for a 12ga. That may not be a factor for a Duck/Goose gun but it detracts fom it's other uses. Not to mention the slightly smaller payload or that you can't shoot slugs through the overbored barrel which is also ported. I'm set in my ways. I'd rather have a 10, than almost a 10, if I'm going to use that much gun.

[ArmedBear]

The trade off there is you have a 12ga that handles more like a 10.

Yeah. I was comtemplating a 935, and it's a pig. If I get one, it'll only be for playing duck, duck, goose.

[berettashotgun]

The 10 Gold Lite with a 26" barrel is easy on me.
The older steel receiver model has sit ever since I bought the Lite.
I use it for turkey, and geese ( sometimes ) but would never consider shooting a 10ga at a duck.
Way too much expense for duck:barf:-meat.:barf:
I have never used anything other than #2 or #3 2.75" home rolled shells for ducks.
I'm a HUGE proponent of the 10ga.
There a lot of opinions about a 10ga all over the internet - mostly hearsay and speculation.
Owning 2 Beretta and 2 Winchester 3.5" shotguns - I'd take a Browning Gold Lite EVERY DAY over those shotguns. One of the Berettas actually don't count - it is an older 686 with 3.5" chambers. It maims on one end and kills on the other.
As far as reloading, a 10ga payload is way too much for bird hunting like I do it.
I use a whole whopping OUNCE of shot for duck.
10ga Reloading pretty much STARTS at 1&3/8th oz. payload. I try and keep it around 1500fps no matter the payload.
A BPS with a 30" barrel swings like a telephone pole, but sure tracks longish shots and your lead isn't affected by gale force winds.:p
10ga auto's , well - any shotgun with a 3.5" receiver, seem about balanced with a 26" barrel IMHO.

[Dave McCracken]

A couple things about the Big Ten....

As stated above by others, the 10 is unequalled for moving large amounts of shot, non toxic or otherwise. Most 10 gauges pattern better than the 3.5" 12.

Trouble is, the 10 is big and the ammo cost is someplace between high and ridiculous. And, with gun weights running well into double digits(a good idea for the payload) the things swing like fence posts and turn like Apatosaurs.

That means most 10 users are not using their shotguns enough to really get very good with them.

The late Don Zutz was a big fan of the 10, and he worked up a crow load for his SxS guns that cost way less than factory and put 1 3/8 oz of lead out there at the same speed as his goose loads.. A few cases of that each summer meant Mr Zutz was well prepared for geese.

None of my shooting needs a 10 to do it right. Pass shooting for me is history, and a decent 3" 12 gauge load works well for me. I have shot next to folks with new 10s and lent them a shotgun to fill out their limit after they sent lots of T shot into empty air.

Were I desirous of a 10, I'd get a MEC Steelmaster or similar first, load up some 1 1/8 oz mild loads and shoot wobble and 5 stand until I was used to the behemoth.Skeet might be a bit much.....

And to benefit my arthritic frame,the gun would weigh at least 10 lbs, and/or be a semi auto like the Old Ithaca/Remington Mag 10 or the Gold.

The 10 is as single mission specific as the Space Shuttle. If that's what you need, good luck....

[ArmedBear]

One might also note that the price of a nice 10 Gauge will cover a fair number of the "expensive" high-tech non-toxic 12 Gauge shells that can reach out, also, and from a more familiar gun.:)

[Action_Can_Do]

I'll confess, my interest in the 10 gauge has little to do with geese and more to do with shooting and owning exotic/unusual guns. Do the majority of 10 owners prefer pump or auto?

[chas08]

My short answer is BOTH!!! I've had the BPS Stalker (pump) the longest and it's been very dependable. The developement of an arthritic shoulder made me realize a couple of years ago that I may not be able to take the pounding dealt by a pump in coming years. So two seasons ago I ran across a Remington SP-10 priced very right and added it to my collection of "old technology" shotguns. The pump weighs 10 lbs+ and the auto weighs 11 lbs+. Both swing like corner posts, but I use them almost exclusively on Geese so that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I bought the pump first because it was the most affordable at the time. If I had it all to do over again knowing what I know now, I'd have bought the auto. The picture was taken two seasons ago, my BPS. I had it camo-clad about five years ago.

[Action_Can_Do]

chas08
That gun looks MASSIVE!

[Jack2427]

Bought a Browning BPS 10 a while back(price was too low to resist). It now has a 19 inch barrel, cylinder bore, and some nice Xpress sights on the rib. Putting a nice set of black synthetic furniture on it. Found a deal on 3.5 inch buck (00, 000 AND 0000), and some slugs. I have fired it for pattern and accuracy. It does tend to get ones attention, along with everyone else on the range. However I am going to use it both at home and in my truck, it fits very nicely under the back seat of my Ram.
When Ithaca produced a 10 gauge auto that they called the "Roadblocker" they were not kidding. I tried the slugs out on an old wrecked buick we have at our club range, and it rocks the whole car with a solid hit on the frame or engine block. It rocks me a little also. I would hate to shoot it indoors without ear protection, but if I had too...........
It is an interesting weapon, but not for everyone, maybe not even for me in a couple more years, in the meantime it is a conversation starter at the station house.

[chas08]

chas08
That gun looks MASSIVE! It is, and the SP- 10 is even more massive, by a pound or so. I hope the photo gets posted correctly. It's of my two tens. The SP-10 hasn't been broken in properly yet. If the photos worked out right. I call them Beauty and the beast. And remember this from the ramblings of an old man "if you can afford to play with it, Buy It!!!! "Id 'druther own 28 antiques than 1 state of the arts.

[mharveyww1]

When I was much younger, my father was a very serious and dedicated gun collector. He would spend endless Sunday afternoons crawling through attics and cellars in old broken-down rural houses....not to mention rotting and sagging farm barns. It's amazing the things he found.

Once he had found his latest 'treasure' he would spend weeks or months restoring it to near-original condition. They looked great and were fun to shoot.

When I was 16...he brought home two 10 ga. double-barrels.
One was an English make that was already in working condition. The gun was just stunning. Nickel-plated with elaborate engraving. This particular gun was the only one of it's kind I've ever seen. It was a hammerless design, but there was a sort of "T-handle" on top of the breech that, when grasped and pulled up, slid the breech open, ejecting the expended shells. To reload you just dropped two more shells into the, now-empty breech, palmed the T-handle and slammed it shut. The gun was ready to fire.

This gun also had a 32" barrel and was bad news for ducks and geese!
Being a hormonally driven 16 year old, I loved hunting with this gun but I never really paid attention to the guns progeny nor history.
Now, my father has passed. His entire collection (over 500 pieces) has been held up in probate court for nearly 3 years due to family squabbles over his Will.
Anyone care to venture a thought as to what this gun might be?

The second 10 ga. was equally unusual. It was a traditional break breech with large external hammers...but it has a 46" Damascus barrel!
Because of this, I never dared use modern 10 ga. shells in this gun.
But the very edge of the rims of a 12 ga. shell would catch on the inside of he barrel, and were shootable!

Yes, it would split the casing when fired, but the shot load only had one way to go and that was down the superhighway of a barrel.
I never tried hunting with this beast, but I won every turkey shoot in the county - every year! The shots would just blow out the whole center of the targets. Eventually, I was banned from using the gun in local turkey shoots.

Either of these ring any bells?

Mike Harvey

[roo_ster]

Jack2427:

Hmm.

You make me want to find a beater Rem SP10, cut the bbl down to 18", tack on a ghost ring & front sight, and restore it to truck gun utility.

[berettashotgun]

Brown hulls are VERY hard to find in the muck and grass for you potential reloaders.
Hulls are also hard to come by for a reasonable price.
Keep that in mind.