Thanks everyone for the replies, I tested Browning's new A-bolt and savage's 12 gauge. The price for the Browning was upthere, but it is worth the $. After all its a browning! The savage is set up like a big bore, I could get to like it! The keystone I will get,the thumbhole stock is nice it brings the gun up to your cheek more. They are all good deer guns, but they do all lack one thing a mossberg has; no porting! With wife and kids that helps alot! Porting a rifled barrel that size is a good undertaking, I may still get them.
Where have all the bolt action shotguns gone?
- Thread starter wolf695
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sugarmaker
Member
I have a bolt 410 that we use on squirrels around the house. It has the pointing characterisitics of a truck axle, with no follow up shot. I think that's what did them in.
I picked up my 20 yesterday. Stock has been refinished, but it's well done and looks great. Action and barrel are rebluedl, but looks good. I like how it cycles. It's tube fed. First shotgun I ever fired was a Mossberg with a box mag, and it jammed a lot, so I opted for the tube fed gun. Very positive ejection and feed. Bore is like a mirror. Polychoke functions fine, though I do need to investigate this odd circlip that looks broken or the wrong size.
What I failed to do before buying it though, was ask if it could shoot 3" shells. :banghead: Oh well, I wouldn't shoot steel through it anyway, and it's too nice to bubba into a smoothbore slug gun.
What I failed to do before buying it though, was ask if it could shoot 3" shells. :banghead: Oh well, I wouldn't shoot steel through it anyway, and it's too nice to bubba into a smoothbore slug gun.
Most bolt guns magizine fed, standard practice is to have the bolt open when loading the mag in the gun. This makes a no brainer for the mag to catch in the gun. When using a bolt gun of any kind , skill comes into play! Those people that can shoot well, like a challenge but also a gun that they have knowledge of. I understand in this fast pace trade in, throw away world that skill is lost for speed and volume. The truth is a bolt shotgun is the old ways, but for anyone that lived that old saying, One shot One kill, that bolt shotgun is like a slug gun verison of that rifle. Please try one out, you might surprise yourself and have some fun. At the very leased your aim will improve.
DammitBoy
Member
I blame this thread for my most recent purchase.
Winning bid on gunbroker = $84.00
Reminds me of hunting with my older brother = priceless
Winning bid on gunbroker = $84.00
Reminds me of hunting with my older brother = priceless
Not many people want them which is great because you can get them cheap. Heck, I bought one for $20 a week ago. For a lot of hunting applications you don't need super fast follow up shots...plus they don't rattle like some cheap pump guns. If you want a super cheap, lightweight shotgun you can use and abuse.....a bolt action or a single shot will get the job done. Sure I like the big money o/u guns and I shoot a lot more shells through semis and pumps..but bolt actions have their place and they do just fine. If you want a dedicated slug gun they aren't a bad choice too.
why a bolt shotgun?
I have become the boltgun guy around home, Some of them were poorly made! Kessler,etc. The condition had a lot to do with it! My older son loves his springfield his first 12 gauge, so much so when home on leave he found another one. Which Im duracoating, to give it a new look! In my experience Marlin 55 or 512 is a heck of a deer gun, but Im a mossberg man! The 100, 300,400,and the 695 work well! If you get a ka or kb model it can do it all! All my kids and the wife started with a 185. It has a ported barrel and clect choke which adds a little weight on the end to help recoil, and muzzle climb. All in all a good starter gun! Yes, some you can get cheap others not so much! You get what you pay for! If they are young, cut down the stock and add a soft butt plate. It works great! It's funny after yrs of hunting they all use their bolt guns for deer hunting.
I have become the boltgun guy around home, Some of them were poorly made! Kessler,etc. The condition had a lot to do with it! My older son loves his springfield his first 12 gauge, so much so when home on leave he found another one. Which Im duracoating, to give it a new look! In my experience Marlin 55 or 512 is a heck of a deer gun, but Im a mossberg man! The 100, 300,400,and the 695 work well! If you get a ka or kb model it can do it all! All my kids and the wife started with a 185. It has a ported barrel and clect choke which adds a little weight on the end to help recoil, and muzzle climb. All in all a good starter gun! Yes, some you can get cheap others not so much! You get what you pay for! If they are young, cut down the stock and add a soft butt plate. It works great! It's funny after yrs of hunting they all use their bolt guns for deer hunting.
Still Shooting
Member
Thrift and Training
More years ago than I care to think about, I took my Hunter Safety course and got my first license at age 14. My family had a camp in the Finger Lakes (west central NY), and my Dad and I went out for my first hunting trip. It was winter, and the snow was knee-deep. My Dad had bought himself an 870 and I had inherited the 1912 Marlin pump that had been his, and his Dad's.
My Father gave me one shell. I said, "But Dad, the gun holds 3. Why can't I have 3 shells?"
"Because, son, you should only need one."
"But what if I miss?"
"If you miss, then we'll talk about it. If there's a good reason, I'll give you another shell. If not, then you'll carry the gun empty for the rest of the afternoon."
"Why, Dad?"
"Because, Son, shells cost 25 cents apiece."
-That was not, of course, the real reason for my Father's doing what he did. He was teaching me to make every shot count.
I have taken many second shots since, mostly when bird hunting, and I have to admit that my success rate after a first shot miss is pretty darned low. I have also had opportunities (duck hunting, and a couple with grouse) where the second shot was pretty nice to have. But I think there is still a reason to start a new shooter with a single shot gun.
More years ago than I care to think about, I took my Hunter Safety course and got my first license at age 14. My family had a camp in the Finger Lakes (west central NY), and my Dad and I went out for my first hunting trip. It was winter, and the snow was knee-deep. My Dad had bought himself an 870 and I had inherited the 1912 Marlin pump that had been his, and his Dad's.
My Father gave me one shell. I said, "But Dad, the gun holds 3. Why can't I have 3 shells?"
"Because, son, you should only need one."
"But what if I miss?"
"If you miss, then we'll talk about it. If there's a good reason, I'll give you another shell. If not, then you'll carry the gun empty for the rest of the afternoon."
"Why, Dad?"
"Because, Son, shells cost 25 cents apiece."
-That was not, of course, the real reason for my Father's doing what he did. He was teaching me to make every shot count.
I have taken many second shots since, mostly when bird hunting, and I have to admit that my success rate after a first shot miss is pretty darned low. I have also had opportunities (duck hunting, and a couple with grouse) where the second shot was pretty nice to have. But I think there is still a reason to start a new shooter with a single shot gun.
fallout mike
Member
I recently sold a bolt action Mossberg 20 gauge to buy another gun.. I got it free to sweeten a sale from a sale of my sports memorabilia a couple years ago. I ended up with 5 guns with the money. I despised the gun and sold it to a uncle that has a bolt action shotgun fetish. He has many of them.
S.B.
Member
I saw a Browning at last years Deer & Turkey Classic here in Illinois. Nice but, tips the retail scale at $1200.
Steve
Steve
Just because you have the option for a faster rate of fire with a semi-automatic or even a pump (compared with a bolt action) doesn't mean you HAVE to shoot faster. You can still take your time and take one shot at a time if you want. However, with the bolt action, you don't have the option to go faster.
Why do people assume that just because the gun holds more rounds and is capable of shooting faster that everyone wants it just to mag dump?
Why do people assume that just because the gun holds more rounds and is capable of shooting faster that everyone wants it just to mag dump?
LeonCarr
Member
Looks like this thread is bring back some memories for some folks. A good friend of 25 years still has the J.C. Higgins bolt action 20 Gauge he received as his first gun. I can remember blowing up gallon milk jugs filled with water with 20 Gauge Slugs from that gun.
Good times.
Just my .02,
LeonCarr
Good times.
Just my .02,
LeonCarr
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Okay, for fyi ! a marlin 512, 512p or a mossberg 695,695t used cost more than a used remington 870 or a mossberg 500. Im trying not to be cranky, but 70 percent of hunters arent real hunters! They poach, trespass, and use illegal guns! They act like a pack of jackals to make a kill! So, yes they need as many shots as possible to actually drop something! Everyone is right, there is no accounting for skill anymore! Someone skilled can pick up any shotgun and do the job, Its not the gun its a man holding it! Besides other forefathers had only one shot at a time, and they survived! If you truly know how to shoot turkey or deer with a shotgun then you have a boltgun already! They teach you skill, one shot! one kill! Every buddy I have that shots when it counts, has a boltgun for deer hunting and a single for turkey! Dont knock them, buy one get to know it! before you go and get a pump or auto for hunting deer or turkey anyway! Your skill will improve, I promise!
Thanks everyone! For all those out there with bolt-action shotguns, YAH!!! We need to keep the old ways around! Besides skill never goes out of style!!! For everyone that wants to improve ones skills, or likes a challenge! Get One! Also, if you really clean your gun, it will work better! Its like anything else if you half you know what it! there you are! I guess what Im saying is get one, use one, and have fun out there! Its in the 90s this wk not so good on hardware! Anyway thank you all for the replies!
leadcounsel
member
Seems much faster to ride a pump forearm than to operate a bolt.
Reminds me of efficiency in motion studies. It takes 2 movements, foreward and back, with your off hand to run the forearm. However it takes 6 movements to operate a bolt with your firing hand - 1) remove hand from grip, 2) grab bolt action, 3) rotate bolt up, 4) pull bolt back, 5) push bolt forward, 6) push bolt down, and 7) return hand to grip/trigger.
And you lose your site picture with a bolt more than with a pump. Pumps are much more efficient.
Only drawback from a pump is it's difficult to shoot prone and operate the pump.
Reminds me of efficiency in motion studies. It takes 2 movements, foreward and back, with your off hand to run the forearm. However it takes 6 movements to operate a bolt with your firing hand - 1) remove hand from grip, 2) grab bolt action, 3) rotate bolt up, 4) pull bolt back, 5) push bolt forward, 6) push bolt down, and 7) return hand to grip/trigger.
And you lose your site picture with a bolt more than with a pump. Pumps are much more efficient.
Only drawback from a pump is it's difficult to shoot prone and operate the pump.
USAF_Vet
Member
My step dad has a bolt action .410, but it is old.
A couple years ago, I saw a bolt action 12 gauge for $99. Didn't have the cash on hand and didn't even need it, so I slept on it and decided to buy it the next day. The wife went up to buy it while I was at work, and it was gone.
I see them more as a novelty than anything else. I don't think a bolt action has any real advantage over a semi or pump. Slight advantage over a single shot, but then you figure the weight is a disadvantage. I like my single shot 20 because it is light weight and it's easy to hit a critter on the move.
A couple years ago, I saw a bolt action 12 gauge for $99. Didn't have the cash on hand and didn't even need it, so I slept on it and decided to buy it the next day. The wife went up to buy it while I was at work, and it was gone.
I see them more as a novelty than anything else. I don't think a bolt action has any real advantage over a semi or pump. Slight advantage over a single shot, but then you figure the weight is a disadvantage. I like my single shot 20 because it is light weight and it's easy to hit a critter on the move.
Keep looking! they are out there! You may pay 30-150$ on average for a good 185,195,385,395, mossberg. The cost is going up! I finished my next kids 385, cut it, crowned it, ported it then duracoated it. Added a truglo front sight, he loves it!My oldest came over and I handed him his 385kb, we went to practice at a wooden deer target at 35yrds with 3 slugs. He shot a 5" group in the sweet spot, all 3! lol Thats my boy! Not bad , since he hasn't shot it in 6yrs! It goes to show, then old boltguns teach skill. If anything else they are a good trainer gun! Hes going deer hunting with me and the family this yr, and no surprise HE WANTS TO USE HIS 385! He must want a deer! Now if I can get him on a 695, or a 512.
SleazyRider
Member
Tried to sell my mint-condition Marlin bolt 12-gauge last year for 150 bucks. Not a scratch or flaw on it. Now I'm thankful nobody bought it, as I've re-aquainted myself with the allure of the bolt-action shotgun. I love it!
I wouldn't mind having a bolt action shotgun, but my left hand is messed up such that it makes it really hard to work a pump gun. I can hold up the forearm, just not much grip in some directions. (Fingers down, I can squeeze the clutch lever on a '72 Triumph 650!) I generally don't like semiauto handguns bigger than .22 cal for the same reason. One thing I remember about bolt action shotguns: one of my grandpa's bootlegger buddies had a severely shortened lefty bolt action. I guess the idea was for rapid fire, though from what I've read so far, that was probably not the reality. I was a kid, so I don't remember what size the thing was.
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