Video:Hunting Shotguns 101

Transcript:Hunting Shotguns 101

Hello my name is Mike Sebbert. I am an avid lifetime hunter. I am an NRA member, a National Wild and Turkey Federation Member, and I am here to talk about hunting shotguns 101 for About.com.

Characteristics of Shotguns

Shotguns are a very wide open bore. They do shoot shells instead of cartridges. It shoots a bunch of very tiny pellets instead of one single bullet for scattering shell into a wider area in order to hit game. It doesn’t have the range of a rifle, but again it is a short range mostly used for bird hunting.

Types of Shotguns

There are many types of shotguns, many makes and models. This is my go to shotgun, the one I prefer to use. It is a Remington 870 Pump Action. It can only be fired after a new shell has been pumped in.

The pros of this gun are it has a very good capacity for holding shells, it is very well balanced, and there are not many opportunities for a misfire since you do have to eject a shell and then inject a new one in order to shoot.

This is a very old W and W company premier side by side shotgun. It is a twelve gauge. The reason they call it a side by side is due to the two barrels side by side in action.

The cons of this gun are just the fact that you only have two shots before you have to reload. As for pros it is a twelve gauge so it is bigger and it holds a little bit more powder and shot and has a little bit more knock down power.

A semi automatic shotgun, the fore grip is stationary it will not move. This is semi automatic in that it levers in a shell after the shell has been shot the gasses from the shell and then in turn forces it back. So you don’t have to do anything except for pull the trigger.

The pros it is really fast you can cycle many shots through. The cons it still only has a three to five shell magazine and so you are only going to get that many shots. But all together they are very nice guns.

Considerations for Buying a Shotgun

Now when thinking about buying a shotgun there are several different factors you are going to want to look into. One would be the type of shot gun you will be looking for pump, side by side, or semi automatic.

Another thing you will want to look to as well is what you will be hunting in order to pick the right gauge. Some of the standard gauges you will find at your stores are twenty and twelve gauge. They are the two most common.

As far as gauges, the higher the number, the less power and force it has and the less shot that it requires. A twelve gauge is more powerful than a twenty but it just depends on what you are hunting for. If you were hunting for a bigger game, let’s say a pheasant you would probably opt for a twelve gauge instead of a twenty just for the knock down power.

Price Range for Shotguns

Pricing guns, they range anywhere, you can get them from a hundred bucks used all the way up to five or six thousand dollars for your more expensive guns. They come in all sorts of stocks lengths and calibers so just go to your local store and don’ t be afraid to ask questions.

Thank you for watching and check us out on About.com for more information on hunting shotguns.