Shotgun?

[British Red]

Nope - shotgun ammunition is not a restricted item. Weirdly you don't need a licence to buy all the components for rifle or pistol ammo either. Just a licence to possess once its assembled (go figure). To be honest its worth reloading slug and even larger buckshot, but basic no. 6 shot is so cheap anyway, the components cost much the same as assembled rounds

 

[mrostov]

The only real limits on reloading here are fire codes for storing large amounts of bare components in a residential dwelling. This varies from location to location, and it's really not enforceable unless your house gets raided for some reason or catches fire and blows up. Common limits are like 10,000 primers, 8 pounds of smokeless, and 2 pounds of black powder. If it's loaded ammo, however, you can have a million rounds in your basement, no problem.

A lot of stuff is shipped after being bought online. Oddly enough, bare primers are in a different hazmat code for shipping that live primed shotgun hulls.

One thing I found interesting is that with the current mad rush, as the US population arms for Civil War Two, the only reloading components (especially primers), ammo and other stuff left on the shelves at all right now are for shotguns. For everything else, we've all been told there will be a further 9 months of shortages for ammo as manufacturers massively increase production. Americans bought 19 million guns last year. Many stores are rationing loaded ammunition and primers to two boxes per customer.

 

[British Red]

I must admit I have wondered if ammunition shortages / reloading components may affect us over here as a result - no sign so far thankfully. I did buy some .223 the other day and thought "I bet that would sell well in the US right now". Especially as it was sealed battle pack surplus stuff

There are limits here too on powder for, I'm sure, similar reasons. Black powder has to be stored in wooden rather than metal boxes too....for obvious reasons.

 

[mrostov]

Well, my advice is that if you rely on any components or loaded ammo which are American made, stock up a bit. I've never seen anything like this, ever. Shelves are stripped bare with not much for sale. Even .22LR ammo is getting hard to find in many places.

People, regular ordinary people, are openly talking civil war if Obama tries to confiscate guns, any guns. They passed one law so far, in New York, and there is massive, almost universal non-compliance. Obama has bought over 1 billion rounds in the last few months for his homeland security forces, and the supply is being deployed to staging areas around the country.

In Seattle, the local government tried one of those silly, politically correct media darling events called a 'gun buy back' where they offered a paltry $100 for a handgun and $200 for a long gun, no questions asked. So, a small army of people show up, surround the place holding signs saying things like 'Sell us your guns instead', 'Cash for guns', etc. It turned into a chaotic arms market right there on the spot.

 

[British Red]

Ahhh - much as I (and King Leonidas) have an opinion on that...I'll mind the politics rule

 

[mrostov]

I agree. Don't be surprised if things get really interesting in the states in the not to distant future. Meanwhile, I'd stock up.

Fortunately something that is easy to get still are spent shotgun shells and primers. The one tool I'm probably going to have to order from Europe is a .410 hand operated roll crimper. I found an outfit in Italy that still sells newly made ones. The older vintage ones here are getting expensive. I have a 12ga but the .410 ones are out of sight, if you can find one.

My workhorse cartridges nowadays which I use the most are 12ga, .410, and .22lr. Fortunately I have about 15,000 rounds of .22LR stored.

 

[British Red]

Ahhh love .410

My little Belgian is one of my favourite guns


Belgian Folding .410 by British Red, on Flickr

my wife likes hers quieter though - in a Mossberg flavour


Mossberg 500 Stealth .410 by British Red, on Flickr

These guys do RTO sets brand new in .410 - used to be round the corner from me until they moved

http://www.claygame.co.uk/

You need a low speed drill for them - 200 rpm or so

Red

 

[mrostov]

That pump is very nice, you probably don't need earplugs with it either. Do they make you limit the mag tube on that?

Oddly enough, we don't have mag tube limits on ownership, but for waterfowl (and that is a huge here on the coast) you need to have a wooden dowel in your tube to limit the weapon to no more than 2 in the mag and one in the chamber.

That little break open is neat. My workhorse .410 I use is a very old Winchester model 37 which was built in the late 1930's. My 12ga is a Mossberg 500. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done.

Yes, the roll crimpers you mount in drills are what everyone seems to want to use nowadays. A while back I bought a vintage 12ga hand roll crimper and I liked it a lot. I'm trying to get my reloading setup as simple as possible.

One of my sources for shotgun stuff in the US here is Ballistic Products. http://www.ballisticproducts.com/

 

[resnikov]

Got a letter this morning from North Yorkshire Police. All is right with world

 

[British Red]

Excellent Reskinov - well done. Welcome to the world of firarms ownership! We must go for a pop soon and you can try some of my stuff out before spending too much on your own. There is an excellent gun shop round my way that will "fit" you for a shotgun too getting the right length of pull etc.

 

[British Red]

That pump is very nice, you probably don't need earplugs with it either. Do they make you limit the mag tube on that?

That one is limited, but we can have unlimited mags on the higher licence. I keep a long tube on my Benelli but its of little practical benefit for hunting to be honest. In hunting we can use long mags on vermin but not game hunting (pheasant, partridge duck etc.).

Our rules are 2+1 on a shotgun licence, anything more is on a firearms licence.

As for ear plugs - its stupidly quiet - quieter than a spring air rifle.....just a phhht. Good rat and rabbit gun and great for working around farm animals that spook.

 

[mrostov]

I love the .410 because there is no recoil, and if I happen to fire it on occasion without earplugs (usually not the case) it doesn't murder my ears so bad. I've killed ducks, pheasants, and whitetail deer (using a slug) with it. The range on whitetail deer here is often so close you can just about kill them with a rock.

That silenced .410 would be a pretty sweet piece of kit here. This place is crawling with wild game, even in town. When picking my kids up at the school from a late arrival on a field trip or returning late from an out of town sports game, I have to honk deer out of my way on the school grounds.

Interesting story I read about many years ago from up in Montana. This guy was living out on a rural homestead and he had been getting his chicken coop raided by a fox. So, he hears the chickens raising a cackle one night, he grabs a flashlight and his single shot, break action .410 with a round of small game shot in it, and goes out to kill himself a fox.

As he comes up to the chicken coop, much to his horror he finds out that it wasn't a fox this time but a very large grizzly bear. Before he can react, this huge sow grizzly charges him.

At what was effectively point blank range, this man instinctively fires the single shot .410 directly into the face of the huge charging grizzly bear. The bear dropped dead instantly in it's tracks, virtually at the man's feet. The range was so close they found the wad from the .410 shot shell in the bear's nostrils. He hit it just right.

 

[resnikov]

Excellent Reskinov - well done. Welcome to the world of firarms ownership! We must go for a pop soon and you can try some of my stuff out before spending too much on your own. There is an excellent gun shop round my way that will "fit" you for a shotgun too getting the right length of pull etc.

Sounds like fun.

 

[santaman2000]

That pump is very nice, you probably don't need earplugs with it either. Do they make you limit the mag tube on that?

Oddly enough, we don't have mag tube limits on ownership, but for waterfowl (and that is a huge here on the coast) you need to have a wooden dowel in your tube to limit the weapon to no more than 2 in the mag and one in the chamber......

Not just for waterfowl but for upland game as well (quail, doves, grouse, etc.) But NOT for deer, squirrels, rabbits, etc.

 

[santaman2000]

....In the shotgun states it's common to see people use a fully rifled 12 or 20 gauge barrel for use with a sabot slug which generally uses a .50 caliber hollowpoint or ballistic tip pistol bullet, usually about 350gr with a muzzle velocity about 1800-1900 fps......

You sure about that caliber? I thought the sabots were 40 cal.

 

[mrostov]

Not just for waterfowl but for upland game as well (quail, doves, grouse, etc.) But NOT for deer, squirrels, rabbits, etc.

It depends upon if the bird is migratory. If it's migratory, it's a Federal reg and you are limited to 2 in the magazine and one in the chamber. Waterfowl are also covered by an extra reg concerning non-lead shot.

If the bird is not migratory, it depends upon state law. For example, if you want to shoot a non-migratory bird with a shotgun in Arizona there is a 5 round magazine limit plus an extra one in the chamber.

You sure about that caliber? I thought the sabots were 40 cal.

The 12ga sabots are usually .50 cal. There is at least one Remington load that uses a .58 cal ballistic tip. You can buy the sabot jackets from Ballistic Products and load your own using .50 caliber bullets.

For a .45 caliber muzzleloader you can get sabot jackets allowing you to shoot .40 caliber pistol bullets.

 

[santaman2000]

It depends upon if the bird is migratory. If it's migratory, it's a Federal reg and you are limited to 2 in the magazine and one in the chamber. Waterfowl are also covered by an extra reg concerning non-lead shot.

If the bird is not migratory, it depends upon state law. For example, if you want to shoot a non-migratory bird with a shotgun in Arizona there is a 5 round magazine limit plus an extra one in the chamber.



The 12ga sabots are usually .50 cal. There is at least one Remington load that uses a .58 cal ballistic tip. You can buy the sabot jackets from Ballistic Products and load your own using .50 caliber bullets.

For a .45 caliber muzzleloader you can get sabot jackets allowing you to shoot .40 caliber pistol bullets.

Thanks. I just went and had a look at the sabots in my stash. The Remingtons look like 50 cal for sure. The Hydro-Shoks not so much so. But some of the slug diameter may be covered from sight.

As for the magazine limit, that's good to know about Arizona. But TBH it's the first state I've heard of allowing larger capacity. I've lived and hunted in Mississippi, Texas, Nevada, and now Florida. All those required no more than 3 rounds total capacity for upland birds.

 

[mrostov]

They changed the law in Arizona recently. Arizona has been revamping and upgrading their laws, especially after successful lobbying by gun owner and hunting groups. For example, Arizona did away with the need for any type of permit for concealed carry on your person or in your car. You can also carry openly without a permit. Just grab it and go. I'll have to check the laws, but they were getting ready to abolish prohibitations on carrying guns in establishments that sold alcohol and on college campuses.

 

[gloomhound]

My wifes is a supressed mossberg pump


Mossberg 500 Stealth .410 by British Red, on Flickr

Quieter than an airgun, does not spook livestock or dog walkers, doesn't destroy meat. We had it at the gun club recently and shot some clays with it for giggles. It was surprisingly swingable

My goodness, I would think that would be a bear to carry afield.​

 

[British Red]

Its not heavy, but it is unwieldy to be honest - its not a "bird in the air" gun, but it has its uses. For controlling vermin and small game around stock its super quiet - quieter than a spring airgun. Its a tool and its very useful for responsible users - particularly around livestock that can spook. That said a professional pest controller used one to test it out using lamps on a farm with a huge rabbit problem. They took 500+ in a night (becuase the rest didn't go to ground at the first shot). A useful piece of equipment.