Re: Considerations for a waterfowl shotgun?
Everyone has their preference on shotgun actions, chamber length, and chokes.
The pros of a semi auto: seamless follow up shots never coming off target, less felt recoil with a gas action. Handles 3 1/2 shells like there were 2 3/4 shells.
cons: semi auto’s tend to be more expensive, take longer to clean. The odd jam causing you to miss an opprtunity.
Pump shotgun pro’s: reliable action. That’s the only pro I can think of.
Cons: beats the shoulder off you after repeated 3 inch and 3 1/2 shells waterfowl hunting.
What’s the difference between a 3 inch 1 1/8 oz and 3 1/2 inch 1 3/8 shell doing 1550fps? The 3 1/2 in shell gives you 1/4 oz of pellets more, or roughly another 18 steel BB per shot. That could make the difference between a hit or a miss or a dead bird or a cripple never to be found. If you’re pass shooting you’re definitely better off with a 3 1/2 chamber if your main goal is to target the greater Canada’s.
nothing wrong with a 3 inch chamber, lots of people have them and do extremely well with them. I just like the extra vesatility in a 3 1/2 inch chamber. You can shoot 2 3/4, 3 inch, and 3 1/2 inch all out of the same gun. In theory you could load all 3 sizes starting with the 2 3/4 as your first shot 3 inch as your second and 3 1/2 inch as your third.
I’ve used a semi auto for ducks going on close to 30 years and in that time may have had a dozen outings that my gun has jammed and most times it was caused by laziness on my part for not cleaning it enough. We are hunting waterfowl, not face to face with a grizzly or ther once in a lifetime buck or bull. The odd jam outways the reliability argument with owning a pump.
As for chokes I use a factory made medium in my 12 gauge semi auto, it’s been in there since 2008 and hasn’t come out since. The gun loves 3 inch #3’s 1550 fps for ducks and 3 1/2 inch 1 1/4 to 1 3/8 BB 1550 fps for geese.
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