worst shotgun for SD you can possibly get?

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coosbaycreep

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I certainly think so:




That's my new (to me) marlin model 55 bolt action 12ga I picked up yesterday, sitting next to a mossberg 590. As you can see, it's not very compact. I could barely get it to fit in the back of my jeep, and I've smacked the barrel into all sorts of things trying to find a home for it in my shanty.

I don't have a tape measure handy at the moment (and if I did, I doubt it would be long enough anyway), but my guess is the barrel is at least 3 feet long. This is by far the most ridiculously oversized thing I own.

I went to try it out earlier, but it started raining so I only got a chance to put 6 shells through it. It seems to shoot good, but it's odd having that long of a barrel, and a bolt action shotgun with a 2 shot mag.

I don't have any use for it whatsoever, but I remember seeing pics of the marlin goose guns in my dad's gun books when I was a kid, and always thought they were cool looking. Seems like they were listed as being worth/priced at only around $50 or $60 back then though. I paid $140 for this one, but it's in nice shape, and I didn't think it was too bad of a deal considering it's the only one I've actually ever seen in person.

I have some questions about it also:
I don't see a serial number on it, and it doesn't say the chamber size, so I'm guessing it's 2 3/4" only. Does anyone know when these were made, and what the chamber size is for sure?

Is it safe to shoot slugs/buckshot through it?

Why does the mag only hold two shells? I thought you could have more than that for bird hunting?

Why such a comically long barrel? I thought shotguns didn't get any velocity in barrels over about 22" or so? Shooting this thing, I feel like I'm compensating for something.

There's two threaded holes in the left side of the receiver. Anyone know what's suppose to be there?


Any other info/advice about this thing?

I don't plan on shooting any birds with it, but if I did, I think it'd be just as easy to reach out and smack them upside the head with the end of the barrel as it would be to shoot them with it, considering the barrel is almost as long as birdshot will travel anyway.
 
Um, not neccesarily the worst... If you are attacked by zombie geese I would think an H&R single shot would be a worse HD gun (tho still better than nothing).

How many rounds do you really need in a bolt-action shotty? High probablity it'd be used for watterfowl so you're limited anyway. Particulalrly as I THINK you have the 3-foot Goose Gun there. Full fixed choke? Yeah...

I own a 20 and a 12 ga. Mossberg bolt. They have poly-chokes. They are considered the ugliest guns made by some writers and my 20 ga. is simply my favorite hunting gun of all. It'll grow on ya I suppose but it is pretty limited in use for waterfowl. At worst it is a GREAT wall hanger -- the modernest punt gun!

Do 3" shells fit in the mag? My buddy bought one of those kinda emulating me but knowing nothing about shotguns. I am sure, but could be wrong, his took 3" magnums.

Congratulations and welcome to the club!

Al
 
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It wouldn't be terrible if you put a token effort into planning and practicing with it. It's one of those "Use what you have" guns, but you already have something else. There shouldn't be any problem using buck shot in it.

My dad still has a bolt-action 20 in his locker.
 
If it was 18.5 inch that would be a cool shotgun, but thats just to long.

It looks like a mosin nagant 91/30 + a M44
 
Worst SD shotgun? Taurus Judge. I own one, but it's for copperheads.

Les
 
Well, I guess the taurus would be a crappier SD shotgun in some situations, but not in the tiny, dilapidated mobile home that I'm now dwelling in. At least the taurus is small enough that you could shoot someone with it. The marlin is so big I hit the ceiling with it earlier when I was putting it away.

Al LaVodka- I don't have any 3" shells on hand at the moment, but there's enough room in the end of the mag that it might be a 3". The shells sit up really high in the mag too, and I figured there was going to be problems feeding, but everything seems to work pretty smooth.

Anyone know if it'd be possible to convert a saiga-12 drum to fit this thing? Now a 10' long bolt action shotgun with a 20rd drum would definitely be the new hotness. I might have to see about getting one of those godawful mossberg door breacher muzzle monstrosities to put on this thing too. I could use it for jousting then.
 
Back in the day long barrels were considered to "shoot harder". This may have been because the long barrels allowed the less effecient powder charges of the day to burn completely, producing higher velocity. Of course with the more effecient propellents of today, those long barrels are not needed(and maybe never were).
Gun looks neat though.
 
When you absolutely MUST shoot the guy in his foxhole from the other side of the river. . .

That thing is obscene. Still, though, I think a single shot .410 would be the worst (not counting pistol shotshells). At least with your gun you can either make them crap their pants or hit them in the balls instead of shooting them. That shotgun needs a bayonet. :neener:

You know, the sad truth is that a .45LC shotshell round is probably more powerful than a .410. It also makes the Taurus Judge even more pointless.
 
What you have is an old Marlin Goose gun with the 36in barrel.They were popular for a while back in the 50's and early 60's.Marlin marketed them for hunting the high flying canada and snow geese.They were limited to 3 shots in order to conform to the federal migratory game bird laws. If it has a three inch chamber it should be marked somewhere on the gun or magazine.and yes it is a full choke, made for LEAD SHOT ONLY.......Steel shot was not even invented yet.
 
I've seen security guards in the Dominican Republic and Haiti carrying those. Of course, I've also seen cops in Haiti walking around with empty revolvers too. I would think the worst shotgun for self defense, besides the obvious one that doesn't fire, would be a .410 single shot. As always though, any gun is better than no gun.
 
I'd prefer the judge loaded with 000 to a long gun in tight confines, personally. I don't think there is a bad choice. I can likely reload my H&R faster than I can a bolt gun. I have had practice at it. When I'm goose hunting, I keep a round in my off hand. I've gotten off two shots at the same group before and I've downed a cripple with the second shot, but I'm still working on the double. :D I'm shooting a 24" barreled 10 gauge.

I've never owned a tacticool gun. I have no need for a tacticool gun. I'm not fighting in trenches. I'm defending my home. I just keep a 20 gauge coach gun handy. It ain't tacticool, but I bet it'll kill a man. Would you wanna be shot with it?

The goofiest home defense gun on the market, IMHO is this....:rolleyes:....coach gun with picante rails.......whadda joke :rolleyes:

double-defense-tm.jpg
 
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That is not bad...Saw a bubba'd Marlin bolt-action 12 gauge with the barrel cut down to about 18 inches with no magazine and a carved pistol grip...Messed up!
 
The two threaded holes in the receiver were probably for a rearsight. Marlin made that gun also in slug gun format for deer hunting, and some had rifled barrels for saboted slugs.

Added: $50 or $60 in 1965 would have the purchasing power of $345 or $414 today. If your public library has newspapers on micro film, flip through the ads and check out the price of a gallon of milk or gasoline, loaf of bread, movie ticket. Paying $140 for Marlin Goose Gun in good shape aint bad. Buying guns is better than sticking money in a jar and burying it in the backyard.
 
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Back in the day long barrels were considered to "shoot harder". This may have been because the long barrels allowed the less effecient powder charges of the day to burn completely, producing higher velocity. Of course with the more effecient propellents of today, those long barrels are not needed(and maybe never were).
Gun looks neat though.
Back in the day? What day was that!? The 18th C.
Al
 
Take that goose gun and a hacksaw and you can have a pretty decent HD or barn shotgun for little or nothing.

Don't ask me how I know unless you want to hear about the one I salvaged from a house fire.
 
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