A good shotgun should feel like a natural extension of your body, and correct alignment of the barrel to your eye depends on the dimensions of the stock. Unlike rifle shooting, shotgun shooting is less about trigger control and being steady, and more about the skill of swinging with the whole body, and hitting the trigger as the gun swings a bit ahead of the target, with the muzzle pointed not at where the bird is now, but where it will be after the time that it takes the shot to travel the distance. The range can be varied by the way the ammo is loaded, and by the construction of the barrel, namely a constriction at its end known as “choke”, and ranges from 10 to 20 yards for the so-called “spreader” short-range loads, to about 20-45 yards with “full” and “extra full” choke barrels. ![]() At the end of the usable range the pellets spread too much apart to guarantee a certain kill. As it leaves the muzzle, the shot flies basically like a bullet, and only at a certain distance pellets spread wide enough to make hitting the target easier, and avoid “plastering”, or destroying the bird by hitting it with too many pellets. The range of a shotgun is determined by the spread of the shot, known as the “pattern”. In many parts of the world a shotgun is the default hunting weapon, and if limited to just one gun, many hunters would choose a shotgun over a rifle. Throwing out a cloud of small shot pellets from a smooth barrel makes it easy to do what would be extremely difficult to do with a rifle - connect with a flying bird or a running small animal. Some European gunmakers produce special “battue” versions of their shotguns, with shorter and sometimes rifled barrels, and special iron sights for quick but accurate aiming, or red dot sights.īut of course the shotgun is the weapon of choice for any bird hunter and many small-game hunters. With special ammunition, these “shotguns” can be accurate up to 150 or even 200 yards. Paradox), and sometimes look and feel like real rifles. They typically have rifle sights, iron or scope, fully rifled barrels or rifle chokes (a.k.a. ![]() Many special “slugster” models are produced specially for this type of hunting. In some American states the use of rifles is limited because of safety concerns, and hunters have to use “short” range weapons, such as handguns, muzzleloaders, and archery gear, many hunters prefer a shotgun. Many Afrian PHs take a shotgun with buckshot even to track down wounded leopards! ![]() ![]() Even with bigger game such as a wild boar, when you have to shoot quickly at a close range, especially at a running target, a shotgun will be handier and quicker than most rifles, and a heavy solid slug at a close range has incredible stopping power. When hunting smaller animals, such as duikers, suni, and other members of the “Tiny Ten” in Africa, for example, most shots are taken at a close range in dense jungle, and a handful of buckshot gives a better chance to connect with the target. Shotgun hunting is usually associated with wingshooting, but you can hunt big game with a shotgun successfully, too - sometimes even more successfully than with a rifle.
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