Can slugs shoot your gun loose?

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ZVP

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I've read about that slug gun from hell and done some thinking about how much abuse my modded Westernfield 12 ga pump can take from shooting perhaps 100 plus slugs through it?

I cut and shined the old Pawn Shop gun and wondered if the now cylinder bore 19" bbl would help reduce recoil and maybe not harm the old Shotgun at all?

For H/D the gun is very plain, no sling, lights ,or extended magazines or fancy sights. I only added a slip-on recoil pad and slip on shell caddy. Truthfully, the shell caddy makes the gun heavy on one side and interfears with shoulderiing if mounted on the other. Maybe not such a good accessory?

It will only chamber 3 rounds and one up the spout (weak spring probably as it justdrops shell 4 - 6 out the bottom. I think the 4 it works well with are good enough and reloading is pretty fast anyway... you can always throw just one into the open chamber after ejecting number 4.
Working with a fixed income dosen't leave room for custom work.

Back to the Original question;
I have shot "00" through it and they recoil just like slugs do and I'm hoping doing some "HardShooting" won't harm the unique looking old WesternField
I got a good deal on it for only $100 and so far it works good shooting everything! These oldies are pretty heavy which translates to made of steel and that's probably good.
I'm hoping you guys with more heavy load experience could answer my question here?
Thanks
ZVP
 
I believe your Westernfield shotgun was most likely made by Mossberg, and likely a Mossberg 500. Given that, there is nothing to worry about shooting slugs. If the gun is in good shape, you won't be shooting it loose. You may, however, be shooting your teeth loose. I am not particularly recoil sensitive, but after about 5 slugs through a shotgun, I derive little pleasure from shooting another.
 
For home defense there is no reason to buy hunting slug loads. The Winchester 1 oz rifled slugs go 1600 fps and will beat your shoulder to a pulp while practicing. Try some reduced recoil 12 gauge slug loads. Fiocchi makes some 7/8 oz 1300 fps loads and Remington makes a 1 oz 1200 fps load. At 10-20 yards, that's plenty of power. It's essentially 357 magnum velocity but with a 437 grain bullet that's about a .70 caliber in diameter. I cast and load the Lee 1 oz slug and load it to 1200 fps and it's a super light recoiling load especially because I shoot it with a Remington 1100 gas operated gun. As for performance, it's impressive. I shot 25 of these this past week along with 50 shots of clay target loads and was not fatigued at all.



Whether you use handloads for home defense is up to you. I'm just suggesting you look at low recoil or "reduced recoil" slug shells, they're out there. Your shoulder will thank you.
 
That's why I posted here! I need expert opinions as I like both my gun and shoulder!!!
Yes the Westernfield is a Mossberg made for many resale dealers. It's an older gun with one slide bar but works fine loaded with 3 in the magazine and one up the bbl.

Ok I'll play with a few full hunting slugs and concentrate on my pile of boxs of. "00". I have experience with Bird and Pheasant loads but not the Big Stuff.
Thanks for the help!
Dave
 
No "big stuff" needed on a defensive shotgun.... Stick with basic 2 3/4" 00buck for ranges under 15 meters, period. If you ever see up close what that round delivers you will be glad you weren't on the receiving end. Put simply, at the ranges stated it's a fight ender... if you do your part. Yes, the standard rounds have some kick (but nothing like 3" rounds send your way...).

All that's needed is to actually shoot some practice rounds with that load, verify how it patterns in your shotgun (my academy, all those years ago showed us just how a standard riot gun patterns with that round - at 3 meters -a 3" pattern, at 7 meters -a 7" pattern, etc.). This was with an improved cylinder - a cut down tube with no choke will have a bit bigger pattern I suspect...

Get familiar by running rounds through your popper and you'll have all you need for close quarter defense...
 
What has already been said......Factory slug loads won't hurt your Westernfield/Mossberg 500. The reduced recoil stuff will be kinder to your shoulder.
You say that the 4th plus rounds just "fall out the bottom". Does the magazine tube rattle if you shake the empty gun? Have you pulled the barrel off and checked the magazine tube? I 'm wondering if there is a plug in the mag tube. If extra rounds go partway in then pop back out that would indicate that there is something limiting capacity of the magazine tube. If on the other hand those rounds slide all the way in but then shoot out again you either have a badly worn shell retainer(don't remember what Mossberg calls the part) or wear/ dirt interfering with its action. That could be a serious reliability issue. If you haven't cleaned thoroughly, start there. There is a great dissasssmbly tutorial on this site but you don't have to dissasssmble -spray brake cleaner in there, work the action a few times and tip the action so the gunk can run out of the bolt opening. Repeat. Allow to Dry. Relubricate.
 
Note the model number complete here and we will tell you who made it. Might be a High Standard, some of which are a little more prone to breakage than the Mossies. Parts problems, also. That said, slugs should be no problem unless you start three-gun match shooting.
 
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I have a Mossberg 500 that had a worn shell catch. It was kinda rounded off and would sometimes poop shells under recoil or when the action cycled. Essentially what happened is that the part got banged up a bit and wore down some making the shell catch hook angled rather than square which let the magazine spring shove the catch out of the way to dump shells.

Empty the gun, stick your finger in there and see if it feels nice and square. If it does then pull the gun apart and check the spring. If it doesn’t then pull the gun apart and check the catch AND spring. About 5 passes with a metal file squared mine up enough to be functional again.

I have since took this as standard practice for old beater guns I take in. Quick, easy, and always helps to ease my mind that I’m not going to get rounds crammed in above the gate but under the lifter on guns with both. It’s a real pain to remedy that in the field, but it’s an easy fix when the gun is apart.
 
No worries. I have shot hundreds of slugs through my 30+ yo Mossberg 500. plus hundreds of Turkey loads, plus thousands of field and skeet loads. You're not gonna should that old workhorse loose.
 
Chances are you will shoot loose before the shotgun.
Heavy loads in a lighter gun are not fun to shoot, I can take about five rounds from my
12 bore rifle and I'm done!
 
Mossberg waited until Remington's patent on double slide bars expired.
 
The double slide bars carry the slide and bolt. The slide carrying the bolt locks the bolt
into the barrel extension. If the guns were built differently the receiver's would be twice as heavy.
Both guns, Remington and Mossberg are made very well and will last for thousands of rounds being fired
no matter what shell.
 
jaguarxk120 said:
The double slide bars carry the slide and bolt. The slide carrying the bolt locks the bolt
into the barrel extension. If the guns were built differently the receiver's would be twice as heavy.
Both guns, Remington and Mossberg are made very well and will last for thousands of rounds being fired
no matter what shell.
Click to expand...

How did John Browning design the Ithaca 37 so that it locks in the receiver, has a shorter length receiver, and is lighter than the 870 and 500? Same for the Win Model 12, locks in the receiver, but still not heavy for a steel framed shotgun.
 
The slide carrying the bolt rides in cuts machined into the sides of the receiver.
The bolt lock into the top of the receiver, there is NO barrel extension. The barrel
locks into the front of the receiver by interrupter type threads. This whole system requires a great deal
of machining. Ithaca now uses CNC machining centers to make receiver's, the operator puts
a 11 pound block of 4140 steel in the machining center and a "finished" receiver comes out.
I do not know how long it takes to complete that operation.
The Ithaca's are lighter since there is no barrel extension or separate locking bolt on the
breach bolt. And since the slide is guided inside the receiver only one action bar is needed.
Yes John Browning was the worlds greatest gun designer!!!
 
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