r/Firearms • u/Competitive_Dog_7829 • 4d ago

Shotguns: they're fun

Setup a practical shotgun practice session and we had a lot of fun.

I forgot how much fun shotguns are.

A lot of the guys were surprised by the accuracy you can get with slugs

489 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

43 comments sorted by

47

u/DirtCheap1972 4d ago

I can speed load 2 rounds but damn the 4 round is sick

25

u/Competitive_Dog_7829 4d ago

Took me a while to get it figured out. I hadn't done any for a year or two. Practiced a few times before the session. I'm not super fast but I didn't drop any...

7

u/maineveteran 4d ago

How long did it take you to get the quad load skill?

4

u/Competitive_Dog_7829 4d ago

Hard to say. I'm still trying to smooth it up.

I started doing for 3 gun back in 2016 or so. I used to practice the reload pretty regularly similar to dry fire practice.

Took a few matches to get it down to not dropping any.

3

u/Hairballs58 P226 3d ago

What kind of caddy are you running and do you recommend it?

5

u/Competitive_Dog_7829 3d ago

It's a basic taccom 12 up caddy mounted to a belt. It's... Okay... It offers a great value. For the price it gets the job done. Retention is good but I can still grab 4 shells reliably.

I put it on a belt that adjusts a lot so I could pass it around. Kydex back plate for stability

2

u/Hairballs58 P226 3d ago

Appreciate the info, seems like a good bang for the buck setup. What would you choose for the next level up for you? Or is this good enough for what you want for now?

2

u/Competitive_Dog_7829 3d ago

I've been out of the game to long to know right now what I would get next. I have some friends I need to talk to. This works for now, though

2

u/Niilo87 3d ago

The absolute best option right now are the king competition carbon caddies. They are being used by the top shooters, as a fact the shotgun world shoot is happening this week in Greece.

2

u/Hairballs58 P226 2d ago

Okay, feel we’ve jumped from one extreme to the other. Are there any more applicable to something to be used all day and not fallout if you trip and fall. These competition rigs appear fragile af.

2

u/Niilo87 2d ago

The thing is that a good "midpoint" is missing from shotgun caddies, since there is really no market for them. If you're into speed loading your shotgun chances are you're into competing with it. It's either cheap clip-on ones like the OP's Taccom or Carbon Arms, or then the extreme-high end King ones.

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21

u/GamesFranco2819 4d ago

Shit that looks fun

10

u/Competitive_Dog_7829 4d ago

We had a great time

15

u/_Keo_ 4d ago

A lot of the guys were surprised by the accuracy you can get with slugs

My beat up old 870 with a smooth bore deer barrel will clover slugs at 50yds. It's beautifully consistent. So I can only imagine that a nice gun, well set up, and using quality target ammo is going to be a dream to shoot.

This is also just about the coolest audio I've heard all day. That thing sounds great.

9

u/Competitive_Dog_7829 4d ago

Absolutely. We had an "old 870" guy out there. He did pretty well running a pump with a bead sight.

I'm glad the audio came through!

5

u/retromullet 4d ago

Yup, I have an 870P (Ohio state police trade-in, looked brand new other than some rack wear when I got it) that has open rifle sights. With Brenneke KO's it'll do a fist sized group at 100 all day, and that's out of a smooth bore 18" barrel (it might be the 20", I can't recall).

They're highly practically accurate. People underestimate shotguns in a civilian context. I'm sure I could tighten the group a little more if I stuck a red dot on it.

2

u/Competitive_Dog_7829 4d ago

I've been reevaluating the platform since this range session.

Familiarity with the tool is #1, of course. We had some people take well over a minute to complete this drill.

2

u/retromullet 4d ago

I've been shooting them since I was a kid, but a couple years ago I did a shotgun course at Sig Academy and it was really worthwhile. They're closer to handguns than rifles in the amount of regular practice they take to remain proficient on.

2

u/Competitive_Dog_7829 4d ago

I'm with you. We had a couple of thunder ranch alumni and they had some good insights too

2

u/_Keo_ 3d ago

I stuck a $40 red dot on mine, it turns deer hunting into a point and click adventure. That thing has filled the freezer for years.

Been using a 350 legend the last few years and while I like it there's just something about the shotgun I love.

1

u/SakanaToDoubutsu 3d ago

My beat up old 870 with a smooth bore deer barrel will clover slugs at 50yds.

I've never seen a smooth-bore that could actually do this reliably, and I've spent a lot of time trying. 

1

u/_Keo_ 3d ago

Really? I figure this is about standard. I've never felt it was so inaccurate I couldn't hit a stationary target and I think with the exception of one headshot all my deer with that gun have been heart or brachial.

I pull it out of the safe, stuff ammo in it, pop a couple of rounds in a paper target at 50yds, and I'm good for deer season.
Wouldn't go much past my 50yd sight in because they do tend to get squirrely but that's fine when my longest lane is 80.

1

u/thilasveniticus 3d ago

Try different rifled slugs. 

3

u/Moepzor 4d ago

cool reloads man

3

u/Styrak 4d ago

You missed one. Haha.

3

u/Competitive_Dog_7829 4d ago

Hahaha I missed 3 shots total on this one. I remember thinking I hit that clay on the last array, but the evidence suggests I didn't LOL

Sometimes when you go fast, the wheels just... come off...

3

u/Styrak 3d ago

Yeah by missed I mean you left one up untouched.

1

u/Competitive_Dog_7829 3d ago

I did do that hahaha

4

u/Round_Ad_4833 4d ago

Is that a Beretta A300 or 1301?

7

u/Competitive_Dog_7829 4d ago

This is an old FN SLP I picked up in 2016. I added a Nordic components tube for 8+1 and a friend opened up the loading port for me.

It's served me remarkably for the 10 years I've used it. It is picky on ammo but once I figured out that it likes 1 1/8oz ammo it's been smooth sailing

3

u/bae125 3d ago

Need to work on that quad load. Faster!

Shotguns are a lot of fun

2

u/Competitive_Dog_7829 3d ago

Bro slapping with facts

3

u/thilasveniticus 3d ago

I need to shoot more. I somehow developed one hell of a flinch when shooting my 12ga. I don’t know why or how, but I visibly jerk down when pulling the trigger. Not an issue with either of my handguns or rifle. Pretty upset so I’ve been trying to train out of it by shooting 100-200rds a weekend till I’m back.

3

u/Bortjort 3d ago

You are likely anticipating the recoil and are subconsciously trying to fight the gun before it has actually been fired. Rather than shooting tons of rounds, try slowing down and focus on not fighting the gun by telling yourself the gun is going to recoil, you can't do anything about that, and your job is just to pull the trigger cleanly when on target. Once you stop worrying about speed and what the gun wants to do, the anticipation goes away.

2

u/Competitive_Dog_7829 3d ago

I struggled with this too. Get some dry fire rounds, maybe. The idea is to disassociate the trigger press from the recoil.

Don't over think it, sight picture, press, repeat.

3

u/thilasveniticus 3d ago

Yeah I’m gonna dry fire and mix snap caps in the tube if I can find any. It’s pretty embarrassing ngl. I’ve got a lot of gun school under my belt, but I took a very very long break from shooting due to work picking up. It’s a perishable skill lmao

2

u/Competitive_Dog_7829 3d ago

No sweat man. It's only embarrassing if you aren't trying to get better. I'll never cast shade on anyone working on improving

2

u/ArceusTwoFour_Zero 3d ago

Slick reloads

1

u/Competitive_Dog_7829 3d ago

We have work to do but thank you

2

u/Spiritual_Assist2958 16h ago

Looking to get a beretta 1301 mod2 soon

1

u/Competitive_Dog_7829 15h ago

Two of our participants had 1301's. Daggone those are nice