Semi or pump?

[Archive]

You didn't like the Poly-Choke? I love mine.

[mike31154]

You didn't like the Poly-Choke? I love mine.

If you're referring to my post showing the A5 with variable choke removed, it wasn't a matter of like or dislike. It was faulty. I should have examined it more closely before shooting it. I noticed that the mechanism didn't seem to work all that well when I turned it. The gaps in the vented section were another clue. A previous owner must have banged the barrel against something & bent it. Not enough to notice at a quick glance. First time I shot it I felt blowback against my face. That's when I had a closer look & realized something was awry. Unable to figure out how to remove it I took it to a gunsmith. It was soldered on so the only fix was to cut the barrel. Here's what it looked like. I was fortunate to escape serious injury when I took that 1st shot. Lesson learned, buyer beware when purchasing vintage firearms at a sports show. Shoots like a champ now, good slug gun.

[Arctic Lake]

I love the look of those shotguns Mike ,Real bad ass !
Arctic Lake

Aside from type of action, that is pump or semi it's also worth mentioning chokes. For versatility a gun with a selection of chokes vs fixed is definitely a factor. For most water fowling a full choke works fine & my A5 fits the bill nicely. My 1st personal firearm was an SKB shotgun with externally threaded barrel & assortment of chokes. Also a semi but gas operated. Always cycled reliably, I put a lot of rounds thru it at the skeet range. Downside vs the A5 is cleaning. The gas ports carbon up & are fiddly to clean, the A5 just needs barrel cleaning & the occasional light application of oil on the friction ring.



The Browning brothers..... top full choke, bottom one I had a faulty aftermarket variable choke cut off. It's my slug gun.

[mike31154]

I love the look of those shotguns Mike ,Real bad ass !
Arctic Lake

They do look bad ass haha. One of John Browning's most enduring designs. there's quite a story about how it ended up being manufactured by FN in Belgium instead of Winchester. Sometimes referred to as the 'humpback'. It was a favourite of Clyde (Bonnie & Clyde). He cut down the stock & barrel, hung it from his shoulder, tucked under the armpit, concealed under his coat. If not mistaken it was also used as a trench gun by the military in WWI. The Rhodesian army used an A5 with extended magazine to hold a crap load of rounds. Basically the 1st successful self-loading shotgun design. Built under licence by Remington in the US as the Model 11. Winchester later tried to get around the patent & copy the design, unsuccessfully.

[mike31154]

B&C. Clyde really liked his Brownings....

[Gateholio]

I'm not much of a waterfowler as there are limited opportunities around here for that (hint if anyone wants to take my little sister and I out waterfowl hunting some time please let us know- she is a killer trap shooter although I'm not so good anymore)

But I have used plenty of shotguns and my views on pump/vs semi are this- You can get a good quality but inexpensive pump like a Rem 870 or Mossberg 500 and they work great. But reliable semi auto shotguns up the price a bit. You can get an inexpensive semi but the ones that work best for a long time cost a little more.

My shotgunning on birds is mostly opportunist grouse while hunting other things so I use a short barrel O/U 20G and sluice them in the head or wingshoot them at closer range .I've only hunted waterfowl a couple of times but it was sure fun

[Marc]

Winchester SX3 or SX4. Fantastic shotguns for a semi. Comfy, good balance, easy to swing, lighter recoil for a 12g

Never had an issue with ejection and reload. Any size, any weight, cycles perfect

I'll second this. I picked up a new 12 Gauge Winchester SX4 last winter chambered in 3 and 3.5 inch and this was my first season with it. I had one jam I believe the first day I fired it and I believe that was due to not being broken in yet. I've killed close to 60 ducks and killed a bunch of geese with another group of hunters so far this season and I never had a functioning issue.

Semi's you can focus on your aim for the follow up shots, and if you have a gas operated gun it lessens the recoil for us older shooters.

[TheObserver]

Bet you can't have just one haha. Compared to most hunting rifles, shotties are a bargain. So is 12 ga. ammo. I've only ever owned semis, started with a new gas operated SKB way back in the mid 1980's. Never an issue with jamming, cycles reliably. Over the past few years I've become enamored with vintage Browning A5's, recoil operated semis. One of the most popular guns back in the day. Plenty available on the used market. The only downside with them is you don't want to put steel shot thru them. Other non-toxic loads like bismuth can be used but it's expensive & hard to find. For upland game, clay busting, slugs & buckshot they're fine since lead shot may still be used for anything but waterfowl. Mine are 12 ga. & I've been loading my own slugs. I have some bismuth shot coming in the mail so I'll load my own for waterfowl too. I've bagged ducks & geese with my full choke A5 for a couple seasons using steel shot but don't want to push my luck even though these guns are tanks. Made in Belgium by FN.

Shotguns have got to be one of the most versatile hunting tools for short to medium range out there. I've been thinking I'd like a 20 gauge but have found the 12 can be loaded up with such a variety from very light to kick ass heavy that there's really no need.

Those pictures are some sights of beauty right there! Another thing I want to learn in the next while is to fish always been a Deer hunter only fished twice.