Bolt action shotguns.

[FrankenMauser]

There are two major problem with the guns today. The first is that they were always cheap and have not held up very well. The second is that they all use detachable magazines which got lost, and new ones are scarce. There may be a market for someone to make new magazines, but most owners choose to scrap the gun instead of buying a magazine for two or three times what the whole gun cost way back then.

Yep.

My 258 was rolled over by a horse or driven over by a truck (and then still fired for what I estimated to be 50-75 rounds!). Absolutely decimated. Some one actually took it to a gunsmith, whom quickly convinced them to go buy a Remington 870 and never fire a bent gun again.
I paid $8-12 at the gunsmith's estate auction.
(Can't remember exactly. I got five "parts guns" at that auction, with all falling between eight and twelve bucks each. --The gunsmith was still kicking, and sharing whatever he could about the lots. He was smart enough to liquidate 70 years' worth of possessions before his wife got stuck with all the "junk" after he died.)

But, of course, me being the stubborn fool that I am... I fixed the receiver; mostly straightened the barrel; glued, screwed, and pinned the stock back together; and paid $40 for a replacement magazine. (The Savage/Stevens magazines are available.)

I'm glad I saved it. It's a fun shotgun.

But loading that magazine requires three and a half hands, two miracles, and alien intervention.

(...) It takes a little getting used to, but once you get the hang of it... you tend to take up fishing as a preferred sport.

 

[T. O'Heir]

There's no such thing as a 'tactical' anything. The word is a marketing term only.
However, Browning, Savage, Mossberg and Marlin did or do make a bolt action shotgun. Mostly rifled barrels now.

 

[chardin]

If I take the box magazine out of mine and weld a metal AR-10-ish mag to its bottom, will that be enough to make it tactical?

How about a laser sight?

This is the military weapon of the future, guys!

 

[eastbank]

a man i know said he used a 870 12ga in the battle for hue and said it was useless there and left it proped up againest a building and picked up a m-16 with a bandoler of ammo. i don,t know if he was lieing or not, but he was a marine in vietnam durning tet. eastbank.

 

[44 AMP]

Back in the early 70s one of my buddies had a "tactical" Mossberg 16ga bolt action.

It was "tactical" because it had an adjustable poly choke on it! (of course, we didn't CALL it tactical back then...)

ALL the bigger caliber bolt action shotguns I know (12 & 16ga) did use a box mag. My Grandfather had a bolt action .410 with a tube magazine. Worked really well mechanically, except for ejecting the last fired case. The lifter would come up too far and block the empty from being ejected. That gun was lost in a house fire, but a few years ago a friend GAVE me one just like it. No name on it anywhere, I believe it is a Stevens, but I haven't researched it.

Also don't know if it has the same problem, to date, I've never fired it. Something I should do, I suppose, will add it to the bucket list.


As to the Marlin goose gun...

About the only thing that 36" barrel did was got the shooter 4" closer to the geese.

The long barrel actually did do something. Not make the gun hit harder, that part is drivel (not so much drivel with black powder though) the extra 4" (or 6" if your standard for a long barrel is 30") adds weight to the muzzle and can "smooth" the swing when pass shooting.

 

[B.L.E.]

About the only thing that 36" barrel did was got the shooter 4" closer to the geese.

It also got the muzzle about 4" farther away from your ears, actually more like 8" compared to a 32" break open shotgun because the receiver effectively adds about 4 inches to the total gun length on a bolt gun.
This helps make the gun more pleasant to shoot.

My granddad had a Mossberg bolt action .410 and for some reason, I could nail clay birds with it. I guess the gun just happened to fit me.
I have long wondered why someone doesn't make a low cost trap gun based on a bolt action shotgun.

 

[darkgael]

Bolt

I have long wondered why someone doesn't make a low cost trap gun based on a bolt action shotgun.

Seems like a good idea to me.
Now that you mention it, if I could find one of those old goose guns, it would be fun to take it to the Trap range.

Pete

 

[Screwball]

Seems like a good idea to me.

Now that you mention it, if I could find one of those old goose guns, it would be fun to take it to the Trap range.



Pete

A guy did that a few months back. He was on a different squad while I was shooting, so no idea how he did.

 

[Tinbucket]

I've shot a few of the bolt guns, Stevens, Springfield I think, repaired the stock on aa 16 ga for a family member.
They were just not sexy and largely clunky. Found a 16 gauge a while back but he wanted too much for it.
Elsewhere here some of these bolt guns are be being converted to big brass shell big bore high velocity cannons, so to speak.
Mosseberg, made one called a Goose Gun. With thirty six inch barrel it would throw a big load up high, for sure.
If I find some good ones, in good condition, I'm going to buy them and aakee them as pretty as possible and see what I can do with them. Maybe I'll find one of those with the adjustable choke.
Seems like they are now becoming a desirable item.

 

[Ricklin]

Back fence gun

We have a couple of guys at the club that have an old Goose gun.
Mostly for giggles they will pull em out when the range gets loooong.

Yes the extra weight does improve the swing. My old LC Smith has a 34" it's a single barrel trap gun. Choked tighter than a nuns kiss.

It would be expensive to make a good trap gun out of an old bolt action. A good trap gun must fit the shooter. The cost of the stock work alone would be prohibitive. Yup a guy could do it himself but if you need a new stock I'd bet that it will be difficult to find.

Most anything is possible, but putting 500 in a 100 dollar gun is not for me.

If a guy wants to shoot trap? If you are on a budget there are a lot of old built up Model 12 Winchesters that can be had @ about 500 bucks. The model 12 ruled the trap world for many years.

 

[Cheapshooter]

Who makes a tactical bolt action shotgun?

I remember back a few years ago that a couple companies were making shotguns that held pretty good accuracy. Anyone remember what the name of the company is and if they still exist?

The Mossberg 595 might be what you are thinking of.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?...64846839&selectedindex=1&mode=overlay&first=1

 

[50 shooter]

Cheapshooter, I actually like the looks of that Mossberg over the Tarhunt. Plus they're alot cheaper but have been discontinued for a number of years.

 

[darkgael]

I own a Mossberg 695 slug gun - maybe the ugliest shotgun ever manufactured. That being said, it is also marvelously accurate. It has provided me with five shot ragged one hole groups at 100 yards using a variation of the ubiquitous "shotgun from hell" loads.
Now that photobucket has made posting pictures too expensive to consider, I have yet to solve the problem of "how to do it'.
Pete

 

[Screwball]

Now that photobucket has made posting pictures too expensive to consider, I have yet to solve the problem of "how to do it'.

Pete

I kept my PB account active, in case they decide to reverse the policy and then all those links previously posted would work... but I downloaded all the pictures and uploaded them to Imgur.

Less ads, and no fees. PB can kiss my ass.

 

[donkee]

I have my uncles ted williams (probably mossberg) bolt action 12 gauge with tubular magazine. It isn't a bad shotgun and I do pretty well with it but the screw that holds the bolt in was known to break allowing the bolt to smack you in the eye if you operated it shouldered. Sears offered a gift certificate if you turned in the bolt as it was considered pretty dangerous. I guess they are hard to find with the bolt included these days. The screw holding mine in place has 50% of the head left so I make sure to unshoulder it before operating the bolt. I'll never give it up, not that it is a wonderful shotgun but it was my uncles. Might take it out rabbit hunting this year now that I am thinking about it.

 

[McShooty]

Sorry for getting in late, here, but I gotta defend my historical interests. If you were a kid on a not-too-profitable farm and you wanted to move from your break-open single shot to a multishot weapon, the bolt action was the most affordable choice. A lot of them ended up next to a box of shells by the kitchen doors of old farmhouses.

That's why, at advanced age, I couldn't resist a Sears J. C. Higgins (made by Harrington and Richardson) 20-gauge bolt in great condition for $125. This gun has a tubular magazine and it loads as easily as my Browning BPS (but for sure will not get a second shot off as fast). The quality of this piece, with its blued steel and walnut stock, is as good as other H & Rs, that is, pretty good.
Feeding and ejection are smooth.

As is, the gun would be fine for squirrels, rabbits, and even turkeys. If forced to make it "tactical," I would cut the barrel to 20 inches, put a reflex sight on it, attach a shell holder to the stock, and get me some buckshot and slug loads. Note that the model was also made in 12 gauge.