Recently a buddy convinced me to start deer hunting, and also kindly offered to mentor me on a hunt and show me the ropes.
So out of the safe I got my shotgun, purchased used probably 20 years ago and never fired (by me). Turns out is it a 3" 12 ga. Remington 1100 smooth bore semi-auto. So far so good, until I also discover it is a fixed full choke. Alas since he's trying to get us into a managed hunt situation that requires demonstration of shooting proficiency I can't shoot a rifled slug through the fixed full choke without damaging the barrel.
So I have some choices:
* Replace the barrel or replace the gun? If I get a new barrel that should be cheaper, but where would I look for that, any ideas of how much that would cost, and is it relatively easy to do? But if I go with a new gun then I need to decide:
* Smooth or rifled barrel? I'll probably make this a dedicated deer gun so I probably don't need the smooth, however something in the back of my mind says not to close out any options, and if I go rifled I can't shoot shot.
* Pump or semi-auto? Is this more than just a matter of preference for my application? I'm thinking for deer hunting I don't need rapid follow-up; if I miss I likely won't get a second shot so the speed of semi-auto is less important (perhaps unlike waterfowl).
* 12 or 20 ga.? As I understand it the 12 has more recoil but also can reach out accurately to a greater distance.
If I get a new gun I'll probably go with the Mossberg 500 vs. the Remington 870. I know there's pros & cons to both, but both are fine guns. I've just started to look at both but in Chad's comments he tends to somewhat lean to the Mossberg so all other things being equal I'll probably go that way.
Any other factors I should be considering or recommendations y'all have? It's been decades since I've fired a shotgun and/or gone hunting so I admittedly have a lot to learn here.
Thanks much in advance for your feedback.
So out of the safe I got my shotgun, purchased used probably 20 years ago and never fired (by me). Turns out is it a 3" 12 ga. Remington 1100 smooth bore semi-auto. So far so good, until I also discover it is a fixed full choke. Alas since he's trying to get us into a managed hunt situation that requires demonstration of shooting proficiency I can't shoot a rifled slug through the fixed full choke without damaging the barrel.
So I have some choices:
* Replace the barrel or replace the gun? If I get a new barrel that should be cheaper, but where would I look for that, any ideas of how much that would cost, and is it relatively easy to do? But if I go with a new gun then I need to decide:
* Smooth or rifled barrel? I'll probably make this a dedicated deer gun so I probably don't need the smooth, however something in the back of my mind says not to close out any options, and if I go rifled I can't shoot shot.
* Pump or semi-auto? Is this more than just a matter of preference for my application? I'm thinking for deer hunting I don't need rapid follow-up; if I miss I likely won't get a second shot so the speed of semi-auto is less important (perhaps unlike waterfowl).
* 12 or 20 ga.? As I understand it the 12 has more recoil but also can reach out accurately to a greater distance.
If I get a new gun I'll probably go with the Mossberg 500 vs. the Remington 870. I know there's pros & cons to both, but both are fine guns. I've just started to look at both but in Chad's comments he tends to somewhat lean to the Mossberg so all other things being equal I'll probably go that way.
Any other factors I should be considering or recommendations y'all have? It's been decades since I've fired a shotgun and/or gone hunting so I admittedly have a lot to learn here.
Thanks much in advance for your feedback.