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Just bought my 1st shotgun!

duster68duster68 Member Posts: 228 ✭✭✭
edited October 2001 in Ask the Experts
Taking the advice of many of you, I went ahead and bought the Mossberg 500A in good condition for $100. My first shotgun and I'm stoked! Some questions. What is the vent rib for? I could have gotten one with the 28" barrel with vent rib, but opted for the 28" without 'cause the barrel was in better condition. Which barrel shoots better? I'm gonna buy an 18" slug barrel from gunparts corp. and will use it for casual target practice at distances out to 100 yards. Will this length be adequate to ensure this kind of accuracy? Can I shoot regular shot out of a rifled barrel?Thanks!Thanks!
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Comments

  • bigbossmanbigbossman Member Posts: 154 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Vent ribs raise the sight picture and assist with cooling.Rifled barrels are meant to be used with slugs only. Shot charges will screw up the rifling after a period of time.Several companies make a "Sabot"type slug which consists of a modern large-caliber hollow-point conventional pistol or rifle bullet contained in a plastic "sabot" or casing which falls away after the round exits the muzzle. Accuracy with these should be acceptable well over 100 yards, once you get the aiming point down.
    Fight Crime- Shoot Back, and Better !!!
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  • duster68duster68 Member Posts: 228 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Will the 18" barrel give me acceptable accuracy with sabot out to 100 yards? Can you shoot sabot slug accurately from a non-rifled barrel? If I can get away with a non-rifled, 18" barrel that I can use around the house (with regular shot) for home defense and also shoot slug accurately at the range, I'll be extremely happy.Thanks!
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  • bigbossmanbigbossman Member Posts: 154 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Shotguns will shoot slugs /sabots with a rifled barrel accurately out to 100 yards or better, but unless you want to spend some bucks for an adjustable sight or scope, it takes a lot of practice with them to know where to hold with just a factory bead sight.Factory shotgun "rifle sights" work but its' a shoot and adjust, shoot and adjust, process, unless you know how to bore-sight a gun. Same with a scope. As to 18 inch barrels, where I am, 18 inch barrels are a Law-enforcement only item, as there must be a minimum overall length between butt-plate and muzzle. Check local laws where you are.Unrifled shotguns have been firing slugs since muzzle-loading days, but they are not as accurate as rifled bores, which is one reason our national anthem today isn't still "God Save the Queen"; the British used smoothbore muskets which would not carry nearly as far or as accurately as our rifled flintlocks. NEVER,NEVER, NEVER use a slug for home defense because it will exit your home and penetrate 2-3 more walls or even houses before it stops, unless you are living in a thick concrete bunker.(Which might not be a bad idea in some neighborhoods today.)Number 4 buckshot is a good load, but it will also sieve your interior walls from room to room as shot tends to spread only about 1 inch for each three feet of travel from the muzzle. Certain tactical and home defense loads, such as low-recoil buck loads and "Mag-Safe" brand frangibles, which I use in .44 caliber, are available. Check with your local gun shops.I hope and pray you never have to use a weapon to defend your family, but be prepared, know the laws in your area, and pactice, practice, practice!
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