New Guy With Firearm Question For All Around Hunting

[dart368]

Hey all. I am in Northern California and am going to get into hunting. I have a .308 and a Mossberg 930 with a 22" barrel. I plan on using the Mossberg for upland bird and possibly duck and the .308 for pig or possibly deer.

I want to buy my son a gun for hunting and found a Mossberg 500 in 12 gauge with 24" ported barrel and an Extra full turkey choke. I am sure this would be good for turkey and upland birds and possibly ducks.

Am I okay so far?

My next question is, can my son use the Mossberg for pig if using slug loads? I am finding it hard to justify buying him a shotgun AND a rifle so I am wondering if he can get away with just the one gun for most applications. Perhaps someone with some knowledge of distances and sizes of pigs in Northern California could chime in and give me your opinion. Of course, I will take anyone's advice being that I am new to this. Thanks.

 

[solus]

you can always look for a rifled barrel for it or a choke that wont mess up his shotgun when you fire slugs through it. Slugs should not be fired out of a choke that is tighter than improved cylinder. People have done it but it can blow the choke out the barrel and damage the threads or it could just blow the barrel up. So the answer is yes itll work for pig hunting but only if you change the barrel or the choke.

 

[hks95134]

Any shotgun with slugs will kill anything on this Earth.

 

[dart368]

Thank you for your replies. Improved cylinder or less...got it. Great information. I am assuming that most pig shots are taken no more than 100 yards away so the slugs should work with relative accuracy I am thinking. Does that sound about right?

 

[JustGuy]

He will not hit a pig out of smooth barrel at 100 yards. You will need to buy a rifled barrel, but it is something like $200, but do not forget recoil of a slug gun which can be really hard on a young boy. You can buy a rife for $350+- Savage Axis, great gun, very reliable and accurate.
You want him to enjoy hunting, but you make everything to get him frustrated and quit it.

 

[slanttop357]

If you go with the slug gun, once you narrow down what slug & load to use it would be a good idea for u and your son to go to the range and punch some paper.

 

[dart368]

I was wondering if the smooth barrel would be accurate enough to hit a pig at 100 yards. Good call on the range. I forgot to mention that my son is 20 years old and is in good shape but has not shot much in the past besides aliens and terrorists on xbox360.

 

[Nathan C. Morales]

About half the shots I've had at wild boar have been over 100 yards. Also, many of the places you hunt them will be mountainous, which means he will have to shoot at different angles. I would make the investment in a rifle that will have a flatter trajectory as opposed to a shotgun slug. Personally, I am a fan of the .308.

 

[nmbrinkman]

Buy used. Find a used Remington 870 (older is better) and either a new Ruger American in caliber of choice or a used rifle. Lots of adequate scopes out there for a good price. Nikon Prostaff being one I've heard good things about. A 30-06 will give him options if he wants to shoot something other than pigs. Whatever you get, make sure he gets to the range with both guns. Also, for ducks I'd recommend something with a 26"- 28" barrel.

 

[frankiecruzer]

I bought my son a rifle choke from midway USA and was $45 and I'll let him take an 150 yd shot with it

 

[dart368]

Thanks for all the input. The shotgun I was going to buy got sold. I will see what comes up in the local classifieds.

 

[jtorres92]

i have used rifled slugs for pigs just make sure it doesnt have anything tighter then improved cylander

 

[nato]

What you do is buy yourself that new rifle you've had your eye on, and give your son your .308.

 

[Frostbite]

Buy used. Find a used Remington 870 (older is better) and either a new Ruger American in caliber of choice or a used rifle. Lots of adequate scopes out there for a good price. Nikon Prostaff being one I've heard good things about. A 30-06 will give him options if he wants to shoot something other than pigs. Whatever you get, make sure he gets to the range with both guns. Also, for ducks I'd recommend something with a 26"- 28" barrel.

THIS:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Scopes are the way to go. I have a few Nikons and they're great. Used 870s and Ruger Americans can be had cheap these days, although the '06 is a little heavy on recoil......(7mm/08 or .260 Rem?).

 

[Frostbite]

And on that slug/choke issue.....it's not all that dire a problem, really.

For optimum results you want the most open choke you can get for slugs and buckshot.

You don't want him taking long shots at this point anyway.