New to shotguns and...

[DropOut]

Hello All,

I'm a lifelong shooter that just inherited a Winchester 1300 but a week ago. I grew up in a very firearms friendly house (shooting my first gun at age 5) and own several guns of my own, yet the entire world of shotguns is brand new to me.

I stripped it, cleaned it, and just put about 40 shells through it. It's beautiful! I love it! However, through past few days I've come across a few questions about shotguns that I haven't really gotten answered.

For instance, is a choke an addition to the muzzle that has some type of effect on the spread? It prevents the projectiles from spreading as quickly, correct?

And how many different types of loads are there for my 12' gauge? I see that I am currently using "Remington Game Loads" with a picture of a squirrel and rabbit on it. I am presuming this is some type of lighter load, but could somebody shed more light on that?

Another question I have is why are shotguns safer to fire in the air than a .22? I mean, I understand that this is true, I'm just not certain why. A .22 slug can travel for miles up in the air but eventually must come down (possibly on something like a house or a person - not good). But if I shot a shotgun into the air, why doesn't the same thing happen with all the little BB's that come out?

My final question is about the size shell I'm using. It says 2 3/4 - 3 on the box of shells. I'm assuming that means two and three fourths of an inch to three inches is the size of the actual shell, but I don't really know. Could somebody help me out with this?

 

[romeo212000]

Welcome to another life long obsession. I will do my best to answer your questions as others will too.

1. a choke does affect the pattern of the shot. That is to say how broad the shot spreads out. There are several different choke sizes in shotguns. Some are fixed in a shotgun and cannot be changed and many have interchangable choke tubes that you can change depending on what you are shooting.

2. There are hundreds of different types of loads for a 12 gauge shotgun. There are different shot sizes, loads to be used for dove, quail, skeet and wing shooting. Loads to be used for turkey hunting, and duck, hunting, and goose hunting, and home defense and so on. and within all of these different loads there are different loads for each purpose. Simply put, the possibilities are nearly endless.

3. Because of their lack of weight and pressure when fired compared to a .22 round, as a general rule (except for maybe using slugs) the many pieces of shot that come from a shotgun do not start out with as much energy as a .22 and therefore do not retain it nearly as well at longer distances as a rifle round does. Not matter what the size. Of course it obviously doesnt mean you can be careless with a shotgun but that goes without saying (Or does it?)

4. Are you sure it says 2 3/4-3 on the box of shells or the barrel of your gun. Usually you see that on the barrel of a gun stating that you can use 2 3/4 or 3 inch shells in it. 2 3/4 shells are for the majority of wing shooting. 3 inch shells are used for home defense, turkey hunting, waterfowl hunting and things that require larger loads.

Hope I was able to help. Glad you are venturing into a new side of firearms.

 

[DropOut]

Yeah, You're right about the 2 3/4 - 3 being on the gun instead of the box of shells (sorry, my newbish mistake).

And I have three interchangeable chokes. They had a small insignia on them but I won't be able to read until tomorrow. I remember one saying OYL, but I'm not quite sure if that's an acronym or what.

The answer you gave to #3 makes sense, but what about the shot that comes raining down? Is it entirely harmless or what? I mean gun safety and responsibility obviously comes into play (I'm not shooting over people's houses or anything), but I like to know what exactly is going on after I pop one off at the critter in that tree.

Thanks for all the help. I am very excited to be joining the world of shotguns.

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

The one that said OYL most likely said CYL, which would be short for Cylinder choke. Common chokes from least to most constriction (more open to tigher patterns, that is) are Cylinder, Improved Cylinder, Modified, Improved Modified, and Full. There are others, but those are the ones you will run into the most.

 

[Pete409]

Dropout,

A shotgun pellet may have a maximum range of about 250 to 400 yards depending on pellet size. When they fall to earth, they will have little remaining energy, but enough to put someone's eye out. They would not have enough energy after 300 yards to do much more than break the skin.

A .22 slug has a much longer range (perhaps 1 mile or more). It will retain much more energy and could even be fatal (if hit in a vulnerable spot) after traveling for a mile.