Ultimate shotgun project results

Finally got to get some range time with the new rebuilt project Mossberg shotgun.  To make sure the results were unbiased, I took along two guest shooters; one an Afghanistan military veteran and the other a college student with very little shooting experience.

Both shooters were very surprised at how well the red dot sight worked on flying targets.  The veteran shooter is pure poison with a shotgun already - he routinely hits hand thrown clay targets, then shoots the pieces with his pump action Benelli Super Nova in 12 gauge.  He was surprised at how simple it was to hit targets on the ground and in the air.

The college kid began to hit targets that he never could hit before.  He went from a lucky hit now and then to hitting three out of four clays like clockwork shooting the project shotgun.  Once he figures out how to track a clay better, his shooting will improve.  "That was amazing," he told us.  "The red dot was easy to see and once I focused on the target, I began to smash them pretty good."

We seemed to accomplish a major step in the project as well as validate one of the assumptions of the project; that optical sights can make up for not having a fitted gun stock and other issues making flying targets so tough to hit for beginners.  Our expert shooter found the red dot did not help him any, if at all - but it did not seem to hurt him, either. Experienced or not, the optical sight made shooting this shotgun a real "point and shoot" weapon.   After all, you never know what you may find under (or on top of) a log...

Watch for more range and field action for the Ultimate tactical hunting shotgun project!  Be sure to check out  the fine folks at Inner Circle Personal Safety, LLC for the best in less-lethal self-defense gear, home security and surveillance equipment.  We really love the Stun Master mobile charger flashlight...that thing has LED lights, can charge your cell phone in an emergency and packs 18 MILLION volts of shock power!

A New Direction

After a lot of thought and a great deal of research, The Gun Dr. has branched out - I began looking into non-lethal devices to add to my personal protection plan.  Back when I wore a badge, I always carried a non-lethal alternative, in our case pepper spray,  in addition to a baton and a firearm.  That gave me a tactical advantage of having a weapon I could use when facing a possible threat that had not yet materialized.

For example, one time I was searching a man arrested for disorderly conduct.  He was considerably larger and stronger than me, and if he should attack me, I could have been overpowered and seriously injured or killed.  Without the pepper spray, I would have been forced to use my firearm to avoid being overpowered.  Having a non-lethal alternative I was a lot more confident and less likely to hesitate using the pepper spray if things went south.

I have found both pepper spray and electronic stun guns (often incorrectly called tasers) to be very effective stopping violent attacks.  At the same time, these devices had no apparent lasting effect when used correctly.  It just seemed natural to include these devices in my everyday carry.

If you are interested in learning more about pepper sprays, stun guns and other alternatives to a firearm, check out the fine folks at Inner Circle Personal Safety, LLC; these guys have the best selection, best prices and the best advice of anyone I know.  Check out their website at  http://www.innercirclepersonalsafety.net/stun-guns.html. 

Be safe, and leave a comment!! 

Getting close to opening day

A twin 20 millimeter anti-aircraft gun is NOT legal for hunting in Virginia...but it still looks cool!
Not much to add today...opening day approaches quickly as Archery only season for deer opens October 1st.  If you need  new strings or cables, it may be too late, as pro shops are busy.  Even so, grab your gear and look it over - even better, dust it off and shoot it!

Check strings and cables for fraying and nicks from broadheads.  All those allen screws need checking to tightness, too.  A little blue Loctite will keep them from vibrating loose.  No Loctite? Try a dab of nail polish.

Check over your arrows for damaged fletching, loose nocks and inserts and damage to the shaft itself.  Flex those carbon shafts; listen for crunching sounds and look for any splintering.  Toss EVERY shaft that fails! 

Spin those arrows with the broadheads attached to check for wobble that indicates a broadhead out of alignment.

Now let's shoot a few to check for noise and accuracy.  Time to adjust any sight settings or any other tuning adjustments. 

You DO have your hunting and archery licenses, right?

Airguns are a blast!

It's getting close to opening day around the nation; here in Virginia, urban archery season opens on September 6th.  November firearms season is fast approaching, so it's time to sharpen up those shooting skills.  Unless you live on your own rifle range, there is no better way to get a lot of trigger time than shooting airguns.

I am not talking about your Red Ryder BB gun (I have several), but adult airguns with rifled barrels and lots of power.  Many of these airguns have excellent triggers, nice optics and enough power and accuracy to easily harvest small game and pests.  These qualities make airguns fine practice weapons for hunting season.  Pellets are inexpensive, even cheaper than 22 rimfire rounds, and quiet enough to shoot in suburban backyards (check local laws first!).

My oldest son finished his hitch in the military - thanks for your service - and wanted to get some "trigger time" before muzzleloading season next month.  So we broke out the airguns. 

We punched a lot of holes in some paper targets, but we wanted something a it more reactive...my wife gave me a box of over-ripe tomatoes to sort through and find a few that were still good for cooking.   Let's see, high-speed airguns, some rotten tomatoes, a safe place to shoot...what's next?

Tomato destruction!  We set  tomatoes on a red plastic cup in front of a safe backstop 20 yards away and aimed carefully...

Hard to see in the photo, but the tomatoes were small targets, about 2 inches across and a little over an inch high.  Even so, the vile fruit were no match for our fine airguns and our exceptional marksmanship!

The pellets were devastating on the tomatoes.  They have a proven success rate on small game as well.

Lots of fun and great practice for opening day.  What are your thoughts?  Leave a comment and let me know!

More on Ultimate tactical hunting gun

If you looked at the previous posts, the Mossberg does not have its original finish.  It's an oldie, at least 30 years old, meaning it has a somewhat glossy finish on the wood stock while the metal parts are a polished blue.  The gun was fairly reflective in sunlight, making it easily seen.  That leads to the next modification - a new finish!

I wanted the new finish to do two things; first, protect the gun from the elements and to make it harder to see.  Both requirements could be met with the same product - spray paint!

Yes, it's heresy to put paint on a firearm - or is it?  This shotgun is no museum piece, and this was not your local discount store cheap spray paint.  So, let's take a look at this upgrade.

On the wood stock and forearm, I wanted a finish that was dull, nonreflective and durable.  I also wanted something that enhanced the grip of the stock and forearm.  After cleaning the wood with alcohol, I applied a coat of light gray primer and followed it with a coat of Rustoleum Stone accent textured spray paint.  The Rustoleum product leaves a multi-color textured finish that is pleasing to look at, non-glare stone colors and provides a rough texture for a good grip.  A light coat of Rustoleum non-gloss clear finish added some weather resistance according to the manufacturer.

The remainder of the shotgun got a coat of Rustoleum dark gray, a light coat of flat black and accents of light gray and brown.  I didn't try to make a small camo pattern; instead I used larger sections of colors to break up the outline of the gun and help it blend with as many different backgrounds as possible.  I think I accomplished my goal.  Time will tell as I take the gun afield and see how well it really blends in.

What do you think?  Have you tried something different?  Leave a comment and let me know!

Ultimate tactical hunting gun Part 2

In an earlier post, I discussed my plan to build what I consider the ultimate "tactical hunting" gun.  By that, I meant  a single firearm that could meet all my hunting needs.  The gun would have to be good for upland, small game, waterfowl and large game including feral hogs.  For more details on my criteria, see the past posting.

Here is what I have so far -

This started out as an older Mossberg 500 pump shotgun in 12 gauge.  The huge selection of shotshell ammunition made a shotgun the natural choice.  By simply changing shells, I can hunt anything from 4 ounce doves to 400 pound hogzillas. 

The barrel has Mossberg's choke tube system enabling me to use exactly the choke I need depending on what I am hunting and how I am hunting it.  Everything from cylinder bore (no choke) up to extra-full turkey and waterfowl chokes - even a rifled choke tube for sabot slugs! 

The gun was excellent working condition and had the tang-mounted safety that is standard in Mossberg shotguns.  This is a very practical place for a safety; I don't know why more manufacturers don't adopt it. 

I am not skilled at hitting airborne game using the traditional point-shooting techniques.  Besides, I wanted the gun to be as versatile as I could make it.  So the next upgrade was installing a removable scope mount with Picatinny rail.  On top of that I added a Tasco 30mm red dot sight.  The rail is removable in minutes, but low enough to remain if I take off the Tasco sight.  Should the scenario call for longer shots at predators or big game, a telescopic sight can be quickly installed.

More details will be in a later post.  Feel free to comment with your ideas - maybe I'll try it and we can all read about how it worked!

How late can you REALLY shoot?

Most of us hunters have hunted at twilight - that time when sunset approaches and the available light fades to darkness

It's a magical time in the outdoors, when the day shift settles in for the night while the nocturnal beings begin to stir.  This is a prime time for animal movement, especially for deer hunters.  Here in Virginia legal hunting ends at sunset.  But how late can we really shoot?  How long before sunset or when "legal" hunting hours end can you see well enough to make a clean, ethical shot?

It depends.
If you are shooting a firearm with a telescopic sight, the scope gathers more ambient light that you eye can, making it clearer to see and aim properly at a game animal.  If you are an archer with a crossbow, your scope sight gives you the same advantage.  Red dot sights with no magnification do not have any light-gathering ability, so your shooting time ends sooner.

Bowhunters have it even tougher; sure, those fiber optic sights gather a lot of light and make those pins glow like a beacon.  But what about that peep sight?  That tiny peep opening that works so well on the target or 3D range may be about impossible to see through once the sun gets low on the horizon. But how much less?

I wanted to know, so I took my bow out just before sunset.  I shot a trio of arrows every 10 minutes to see how long I could see - through my peep sight.  I use a large aperture peep to accommodate my glasses, so I figured I could still see my quarry as long as possible.

I used a block target as a backstop, while my target was a life-sized toy stuffed squirrel.  The intent was to see at what point I could no longer see well enough to use the squirrel's head as an aiming point.  I was surprised to discover that with the sun behind me I could still make clean shots right until 10 mins before sunset.  If the sun was in front of me, I could not tell the head from anything else, so I was done. As soon as the sun dipped below the horizon, I could not discern any specific part of that toy critter through my peep sight regardless of direction.

Now I know how late I can make a clean, ethical shot on game as sunset nears.  How about you?  Try it out sometime; it's a great excuse for some pre-season practice (like you need one)!