No duck hunting trip will be very successful without a method to shoot the ducks, so a shotgun is a definite must. Shotguns are available in 4 different types - single barrel, pump-action, double-barrelled, and automatic. Each of these shotgun types has benefits, disadvantages, and they all vary in price. Because this item is so essential to your hunt, in this article we will break down the basics.
Single Barrel
The first shotgun is a single barrel, which holds one shell in a single barrel. Once that shell has been shot, you must open the breach and manually replace the spent shell with a new one in order to shoot again. While you can have success with a single barrel, it will limit your ability to get more than one shot at a given flock of ducks. When I was young, I used a single barrel to teach me to concentrate on making a good first shot. This is an excellent choice for young and new hunters alike, as they are lighter in weight and easy to operate. They are also the lowest priced, starting from $80.
Pump Action Shotgun
The next option we will be discussing is the pump-action shotgun. By pulling and pushing the forearm of this firearm, the spent hull will be cycled from the barrel and a new round will be automatically loaded into the barrel for another shot. It is important to note that federal law limits the number of live rounds to only 3 in any shotgun used for the migratory game. The exception to this law is limited to special conservation order goose hunts. Some duck hunters will only hunt with this type of shotgun because they feel they can manually cycle the action fast enough to get 3 shots in a single flock of ducks. The biggest advantage of a pump-action shotgun is the simplicity of how the firearm operates. They are very reliable, require less maintenance and will fire even in the worst conditions. Pumps also typically have more felt recoil than an autoloader which can be brutal on the shoulder when firing magnum loads. Unfortunately, the felt recoil creates muzzle jump, and combined with the pumping action, it can be more difficult to stay on target. Pump guns are much less expensive than auto-loaders, ranging from $200 to $2,000, so if you are on a budget and want 3 shots, this is your gun of choice.
Double Barreled
The double-barrelled is another viable option, available in two types - over under and side by side. The over-under has two barrels stacked on top of one another, while the side by side has two barrels side by side. A lot of experienced hunters will use this type of shotgun in a 20 gauge or 28 gauge to make their hunt more challenging. Typically, if an over-under is fitted to the shooter correctly, it is the easiest and most accurate to shoot. That being said, you will be limited to 2 shoots because these types of guns are loaded by opening the breach and manually placing the shells in the barrels. The prices for over-under double-barrelled shotguns range from around $650 to $30,000, a very wide range. Similarly, the side by side double-barrelled shotguns can fall anywhere between $350 and $12,500.
The Semi-Auto or Auto-loader shotgun
Finally, the semiautomatic shotgun, sometimes called an auto-loader shotgun, is the gun of choice of most waterfowlers. In today’s high tech market, there are basically 2 main types of semiautomatic shotguns - gas and inertia. Each system has its own set of strengths and weaknesses, but they are priced similarly with a range falling between $300 and $2,500.
Gas shotguns bleed off a small amount of gas from the shell that is being fired. The barrel will have small ports in it to collect the portion of gas and then drive the gas piston. The gas pushes a ring-shaped piston that uses a magazine tube as a slide to ride on. In turn, this pushes the bolt back, ejecting the spent shell, moving forward without the presence of the gas and picking up a new shell. Because of their effectiveness, gas guns have become the standard for many hunters in the last 40 or 50 years.
Many hunters prefer a gas gun because it has significantly less recoil. Because the recoil is spread out over a larger part of the shotgun, it is less direct than an inertia driven gun. This will factor into most people’s ability to shoot accurately. Another benefit of a gas gun is that it is tried and true. Gas systems have been around for decades and have proven to be a successful weapon in the field.
On the other hand, gas guns are also harder to keep clean. Carbon residue will build up in all of the mechanisms and can cause failures and jams if they are not cleaned regularly. They are also less tolerant of cold weather. When the mercury starts to dip, gas guns can have a tendency to foul more often as the lubrication, carbon, and unspent powder residue will be less fluid and become stickier.
Another major type of semi-automatic shotgun is an inertia gun. These guns operate by the breech bolt being held in the chamber by a spring, and when a round is fired, the spring will be depressed by the rearward inertia of the gun. Then, it will release the bolt to move rearward, thus ejecting the spent shell and picking up a fresh shell from the magazine. Inertia was essentially brought to the forefront of shotguns by Browning with the famous Auto-5 in the year 1902.
Hunters typically choose an inertia gun over a gas gun for one of two reasons - they are very clean, and they have less moving parts which often means it is more reliable. Inertia systems are by far the cleanest operating autoloading shotguns made. Additionally, there are no special gas pistons, O rings, or ports to clean.
That being said, these inertia guns typically have more recoil. There is nowhere for the recoil to go but through the stock and directly to the shooter’s shoulder. Inertia gun manufacturers have tried to overcome these issues with high tech recoil pads, softer combs, and collapsing stocks, but there is still more recoil than a gas gun. Additionally, stock trash builds up. With inertia driven weapons, anything that gets inside the gun will find its way into the stock spring mechanism. This will require frequent cleaning, and can even cause the spring and bolt to move much slower.
Ultimately, gas and inertia driven shotguns are both here to stay. They are highly reliable and effective tools to shoot whatever game you pursue.
My personal preference is a semiautomatic shotgun because the instant reloading of the next round makes for quick 2nd and 3rd shots at passing ducks. My shotgun of choice is a Beretta Extrema A-400 chambered in 12 Gauge. I keep my guns clean and with today’s advances lubricating products (I used EEZOX Gun Care for cleaning and Slip 2000 for lubricant), the worry of operation failure of gas-operated systems is eliminated even in the coldest of weather. Couple that with the reduced recoil and the A-400 is hard to beat for waterfowl.
In today’s world, most shotgun manufacturers offer adjustable stocks for the length of pull, cast, and drop. More than anything, it is important to make sure your shotgun fits your body type and shooting style. A gun should strike the target where you are looking. If it does not, you might get lucky once in a while, but you will never have true success. As ethical hunters, we owe it to the game we pursue to make sure our guns fit correctly to ensure a good hit. The see how to make sure your shotgun fits check out this link
https://www.fowler-outdoors.com/blogs/news/does-your-shotgun-fit-correctly
Once your gun fit is correct, get out and shoot some clay's 6 or 8 times before the season begins. You will be surprised at just how much your aim will improve!
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