My new gun

[Zak33]

Lo people.

Here at HEXUS we try hard to keep the content relevant and proper. Guns are not allowed to be sold here for example. We don't like threads about knives unless in context of another subject ie cookery. It's a hard balance, because many of us shoot.

In sporting terms, we have had a few good threads about hunting and shooting sports, and today I will explore it a little further myself.

Over a year ago I got my shotgun license and into the cabinet went my trusty Lanber 12 bore which had been on my mates license for the last 15 years. If I go out shooting with him, out she came, and pheasants and pigeons and squirrels have all dropped to the old spanish girl. (Lanber the gun maker is no longer in business sadly)

I have 2 air rifles too, both sub 12ft/lb so no license required, both German. An HW95 under two years old and my childhood gun an HW80 Venom lazaglide tuned over 20 years ago.

What I have discovered about myself, is that I'm a stalker.. a stealth hunter and not a a very good driven game/rough shooter. Don't ge tme wrong, I love to alk the field edges (normally with Dak) with my 12 bore, waiting for a pigeon to explode out from the hedge or a bunny to bolt for cover. But do I hit as much as I should? Nope...not like it did when I was younger. Reactions not quite so good and glasses don't help but mainly... it's not my style. If it WERE I'd practice more. But it isn't and I don't have the time to hit the clay shooting ground every week.

Will Iinstead happily move tree to tree, 5 minute pauses at every tree, in full camo? yup. I will. And do.
A well placed air pellet in the head or chest of a little furry creature is good night. I don't eat squirrel, but I do eat pigeon, rabbit and pheasant. And yes, my last pheasant was a head shot with my HW80 .177 and very tasty it was.

So... what gun for me to buy? I don't have, nor do I need yet, a Fire Arms Certificate so there's no .22 rim fire or .243 deer rifle for muntjac/roe. Dak has the big bang sticks anyway.

I'm cautious when buying something that I will put my heart and soul into. For example I also own a Crosman 2240 pistol. It runs on little CO2 cannisters and is a .22 at about 5 1/2 ft/lb. In theory it's a "rat buster" but could I hit a rat with it? Well.. .yes .. if the rat stopped moving and i smacked it into the head with the pistol grip! But no.. not good enough with a pistol to be confident of a good hit. And I regret buying it. I mean... it's GREAT for tin cans and it's proper fun. But it's not... good enough for my pride to be in it. I'm proud of my HW 95 and much more so of my beautiful HW80. And my Lanber is a good solid heavy 12 bore.

So... what gun for me to buy that would suit my stalking style.

Well.. long ago I shot a small bore shotgun in what's called a .410 calibre. 1q2 bore is big, 20 bore smaller, 28 bore much smaller... and just below it measured in inches is the .410. Low recoil. Just as fast muzzle velocity as a 12 or 20 but a lot less little lead shot so a smaller "pattern". When I was a lad, a silencer fitted to a .410 was a sure sign of being a poacher! Luckily .... times moved on, and .410 ewhen you own your own land, it's hard to be seen a poacher

So... how does a .410 shotgun help me? Well, with a stealthy silencer on it's not silent but it's soo much less noisy than a shotgun. It's fractionally louders than an air rifle with it's silencer off. Then, having seen the russian single shot jobs and genuinely wanted something more... pride enducing.. I saw a Mossberg pump action.

OK.. lets be clear.. Mossberg is american and these are sold in the states as home defence guns! UK is a VERY different set of rules. But what the little Mossberg .410 action did offer me was a shot light gun with no real recoil, 3 shots (one loaded and 2 in the magazine) and the ability to hunt like I do with the air rifle. However.. if I spook my prey, and it scampers off I still get 3 shots at it

Happy days

So I ordered it.. and colected from my favourite gun shop and he showed me how to put the thing together. The barrel and the silencer and combined in the UK and it then goes for proof testing to ensure safety. It then has the marks stamped into it and the silencer stay ON the barrel for ever. But the barrel comes off making it short to store.

When it's built however, its a long gun.

The pump action mechanism is a sheer joy. Sliding the pump back opens the side breach and you can just drop a cartridge in.. no matter how it falls in, pumping the grip forward always aligns it. The other two go into the underside and put in. They're more fiddly.. on a 12 bore pump it's easier, they're wider and easier to grip. The .410 is a skinny long cartridge.

Talking of long, it's proofed for magnum 3" cartridges but I only really need 2 1/2 inch. I've tried some quite pricey Eley "subsonic" 3" magnums but they were still noisier than the cheaper Lyvale Express 2 1/2" or 3" cartridges.

I have attached three photos.
One shows the size difference between a 12 bore cartiridge and a .410
and the other is of my new Mossberg .410 Hushpower.
And one shows a .177 air rifle pellet, one a .22 pellet, and the two different sized shot gun cartridges

The end result : the Mossberg makes me smile when ever I use it.
Targets that might be about to move- Nailed.
Less than perfect head shots where an air rifle would be a no shot - Nailed
Scampering target - Nailed.

Pockets full of cartridges that take up soo much less space and weight than 12's do.

OK, I cant hit high pigeons.. but then I can't hit them with a 12 either

[listy]

be kinda carefull 410 round will fit in 12bore barrel... would have loved to get shotgun license but my wife would never allowed it now with the history of depression i have no chance to get it now... also no where to use it

[Flibb]

I havent tried one of the silenced .410, I should give one a go because one of the main sellers is based close to me. I do have a 3 shot bolt action webley thats a bit unusual. I did reload .410 carts a few years ago, but I mainly stick to the 20 and 12 bores now, although I do have a 10 bore with black powder carts thats a good fun.

[Zak33]

although I do have a 10 bore with black powder carts thats a good fun.

oh bet that's a kicker

[TeePee]

Very nice! I am envious of the suppressor. I have a few for rifles and handguns, but not for my shotgun. It's a very involved process to pay the tax they require for you to buy one in the US. So silly for a safety device.

Can you get home defense loads in the UK? I know most of the major manufacturers are making very usable loads for the .45LC/.410 handguns that have become popular.

[kalniel]

Can you get home defense loads in the UK?

If stated as the purpose then legally I think it would be hugely problematic (IANAL of course) - guns are largely fine in the UK if their purpose is solely for animals/sport. Anything that hints at otherwise is a no AFAIK.

[Flibb]

As above no you cant get home defence loads, although you can have stuff like solid slug with the correct certification, limited certain types of practical shotgun discipline.

I have suppressors on my .22, and can have one on my 7.62, but dont really want to spend out £300+ on one for it, I have a muzzle break fitted at the moment, but do get the odd complaint if somebody is shooting next to me.

On the recoil front with the 10 bore, you tend to get more of a prolonged shove from it, than the sharp kick of a magnum loaded 12 bore. Its nitro proofed but the smoke and flames of the BP loads are more fun. Not bad for a gun built in the 1890s.

[Zak33]

no home defence loads.

I'd never use my shotgun for home defence. I'd not use my shotgun for any form of defence. It's locked in a gun cabinet with double locks, in a hidden part of my home and the keys are hidden far from the cabinet. If someone threatened my home, getting the gun out is a longest, slowest job ever.

& I'm not going through what Tony Martin went through in shooting someone in my home.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Martin_%28farmer%29

Any gun, is a sporting tool and a tool for vermin control. If my family is at risk, the gun is WAAAY down the list of "what do I do now?" thoughts.

[Andy3536]

no home defence loads.

I'd never use my shotgun for home defence. I'd not use my shotgun for any form of defence. It's locked in a gun cabinet with double locks, in a hidden part of my home and the keys are hidden far from the cabinet. If someone threatened my home, getting the gun out is a longest, slowest job ever.

& I'm not going through what Tony Martin went through in shooting someone in my home.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Martin_%28farmer%29

Any gun, is a sporting tool and a tool for vermin control. If my family is at risk, the gun is WAAAY down the list of "what do I do now?" thoughts.

Well, Tony Martin held his firearm illegally. Which is where he went wrong. He's only really got himself to blame. Where similar things happen with a legally held firearm, people are often arrested, but then released without being charged. Although, i very much doubt that their license is retained??
But has to be said, it's not something i would ever do. As well as taking up too much time trying to get at it from the safe... and the safe that's inside the safe... there's also the problems caused after. It's not worth it.
Congrats on the new gun though, looks good ;-)

[Phage]

No kick ? I remember happy days with a folding 410. It was so light that it used kick like a grumpy Shetland

[TeePee]

Self defense can be a tricky subject over here as well. I don't know how prominent the Zimmerman case was in the UK, but it certainly raises a concern when that kind of incident becomes political.

Flibb mentioned Practical Shotgun, have you considered giving that a go? I shoot an occasional 3-gun competition, but only, of course, for my own skill development. It's great fun!

[Flibb]

3 gun is getting more popular, keep meaning to give it a go. Bisley has opened up a bit over the last few years so its easier for FAC holders to try other stuff, also new electronic targets are being rolled out. Only shot a few times this year, mainly at 600 yards.

[Zak33]

No kick ? I remember happy days with a folding 410. It was so light that it used kick like a grumpy Shetland

Folding :-)
I was considering getting my boy a ciappa squirrel folding 9mm garden gun. But the 410 honestly is so so gentle. Yours must have been as light as the ciappa for a 410 to feel lively.

Yesterday I went out walking my woodland with my extended,family. My boy(8) my nephew (2) my wife, sister, brother in law and although I knew we'd make a deafening noise as a,family.. The 410 came. Clearly everything had scampered off to hide,from the rampaging family....except the pheasant that detonated out from under the bushes and shot past me.

I was knee deep in bramble and chamber was empty.
Dropped a cartridge in pumped it as I swivelled....had to wait a little for the pheasant to fly away so my sht pattern was wide enough (fill choke on a mossberg stealth).... And I utterly missed.

However.. That's the first gun shot my nephew has heard and it's so mild it made him.laugh.. Or was that my miss....?;-)

Either way....it's my reach for gun.

[Bagnaj97]

no home defence loads.

I'd never use my shotgun for home defence. I'd not use my shotgun for any form of defence.

There must be something that would make you cross that line. Zombie apocalypse maybe?

[listy]

winner just picked up a old webley mk3....... kinda rough nick mind....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...itics-35668626

..... great

[TeePee]

Funny this came up, I ordered a new gun today! Finally going to build up a Brit L1A1 parts kit that I've had for a while.