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What length to keep 12 for HD & hunting?


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Ok I'm still not at the point of doing the conversion, and I guess thats a good thing since I'm changing it up a little.

 

Now more than anything, I wanted the 8".

 

But I have been reconsidering that as I want a 12 that will not only be a great HD, but will also hunt.

 

I was just going to stick with a .308 for all of my hunting needs, but I've realized that there is a good chance I will be hunting stuff much closer and smaller than a .308 should be used for. So the shotgun would work great.

 

But what barrel length should I keep if I want to succesfully hunt? 8? 12?

Edited by TronJohn
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I'm thinking with 8-12" you're going to have to be fairly close. If you're talking pheasants, quail, etc. then I'd skip the NFA B.S. and just stick to a 19". For longer distance, or bigger birds (ducks, geese, turkeys, etc.), you might find the 24" to be more suitable. A poly choke might be of benefit as well.

 

For HD an SBS would be handier, but a 19"er would work fine here as well...just a bit longer is all.

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I'd say keep it 19". Thread a choke on when using bird shot.

 

 

But its soooo long. I really wanted something shorter.

 

How accurate for hunting would a 12 - 16" barrel be?

 

remember, I'll have the .308 for bigger and farther out game.

Edited by TronJohn
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I'd say keep it 19". Thread a choke on when using bird shot.

 

 

But its soooo long. I really wanted something shorter.

 

How accurate for hunting would a 12 - 16" barrel be?

 

remember, I'll have the .308 for bigger and farther out game.

 

Its not accuracy thats an issue, its the shot pattern. If you're going to do some bird hunting, you're not going to want to go shorter than 19. I use my 19" w/ a polychoke for hunting, but it does not work as well as my 870 with a 26" barrel mod choke.

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At least in Texas, you can't hunt "game" animals with an NFA weapon leagally. Now for feral hogs, anything you want to use is OK. They aren't considered "game animals" in this state. A number of ranchers use suppressors on 44 mag bolt actions for culling hogs at night...or so I've been told by the local Class 3 dealer.

 

Check your state game laws prior to making your descision.

 

---Catter

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I guess you guys are right, I will need 2.

 

I guess you just cant have a combat/HD shotgun and hunt with it.

 

Why isnt there just 1 weapon that does it all? Why do we need 184 weapons? Damn it.

 

I'm still going to just go with the 8" then and get something else to worry about hunting.

 

I really want the 8" :D

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I guess you guys are right, I will need 2.

 

That'd be ideal.

 

I guess you just cant have a combat/HD shotgun and hunt with it.

 

You can. Like I said earlier, a 19" will probably work fine for you. You could even have it cut down and have a flash hider permenantly welded on for a barrel length of 18.1" and get the "look" you're after.

 

Why isnt there just 1 weapon that does it all? Why do we need 184 weapons? Damn it.

 

Again, a 19" might not be ideal, but it will do everything you want. You don't need 184 guns, you need 185. ;)

 

I'm still going to just go with the 8" then and get something else to worry about hunting.

 

I really want the 8" :D

 

Get the 8" cause that's what you want. You can always find a cheap 870 to hunt with. Or, save a little more and get another S-12. Did you get your trust set up yet?

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I guess you guys are right, I will need 2.

 

That'd be ideal.

 

I guess you just cant have a combat/HD shotgun and hunt with it.

 

You can. Like I said earlier, a 19" will probably work fine for you. You could even have it cut down and have a flash hider permenantly welded on for a barrel length of 18.1" and get the "look" you're after.

 

Why isnt there just 1 weapon that does it all? Why do we need 184 weapons? Damn it.

 

Again, a 19" might not be ideal, but it will do everything you want. You don't need 184 guns, you need 185. ;)

 

I'm still going to just go with the 8" then and get something else to worry about hunting.

 

I really want the 8" :D

 

Get the 8" cause that's what you want. You can always find a cheap 870 to hunt with. Or, save a little more and get another S-12. Did you get your trust set up yet?

 

Yeah I think youre right. 8" for now.

 

Actually I forgot, I inherited (well my son did, but hes 4) a .22 bolt action rifle with Leopold scope and I believe a 20g remmington. They are both cherry too.

 

So realistically, I have all of the hunting weapons needed and I can just finish off this project.

 

I havent gotten the trust yet, I was going to do it this month, but funds ran a little dry. I'm doing it with a David Goldman, hes charging $600 for an NFA trust. I think thats a pretty good deal.

 

then from there its another $1000 for the 8" conversion.

 

I'm gonna have almost 3k into this god damn thing when I'm finished between hardware, drums, mags and the gun itself. Jesus.

 

And I decided against an HK build because I thought it was too expensive.

 

I am planning on building a custom .308 AR instead of the 5.56 HK I was going to do. But now I think I want to pick up an MP5 or make a AR15 pistol. Just not sure which way I want to lean yet.

Edited by TronJohn
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