Does anyone here have a 10 gauge shotgun?

[policerevolvercollector]

I saw a 10 ga. N.E.F. Pardner single shot the other day. Sort of intriguing.... How the recoil in general? Any real advantage over a 12 gauge? Any opinions of the gun and or the 10 gauge overall would be appreciated!
Best,
Charles

 

[AR_Black]

I don't know how popular they are these days. All the guys I know are hunting ducks and geese with 3-inch 12-gauge. Ammo technology has come a long way from 40 years ago.

"Back then" my Dad had a double barrel 10 gauge that shot 3 1/2-inch shells and had really long barrels. I never shot it, but he took it goose or duck hunting a few times along the Mississippi. He traded it off long ago, but recently found a box of shells and I have them here somewhere.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

As a kid, I used to hunt with a family owned 10 gauge.
It was heavy to carry, had a thick recoil pad and yes it kicked!

 

[ColbyBruce]

Yes, I owned a BPS Stalker 10 gauge many years ago. I was out at the DeKalb range on Goddard Rd. attempting to pattern it, and getting the **** kicked out of me with every shot. Some fellow the size of a Sasquatch asked if he could shoot it, so I let him. He wound up buying it from me.

It was heavy, but the recoil was still brutal. I turkey and predator hunted with it three times before I sold it. That gun liked an open choke, as there was about a water glass full of shot blasting down the barrel each time you fired it.

I imagine a single barrel gun would kick lots worse. Ammo was ridiculously expensive way back then, and likely has gotten higher.

If you MUST have a 10 gauge, buy a repeater so you can use and enjoy it.

 

[5point5sixGUY]

I've never owned a 10g but when I was in high school many years ago a good buddy of mine had a New England single shot 10g and I remember it kicking like a mule.

 

[.455_Hunter]

I have two of the NEF/H&R guns. They have the heavy barrels with stock weights from the factory and kick way less than a "basic" NEF/H&R 12 ga with 3" shells.

 

[Dvan34]

My step brother had a 10 GA. back in the late 40's. Single shot. I can just imagine the recoil. It was an old shotgun even then. I imagine the shells are not to readily available today. I never shot nor saw him shot it. We used to use .22LR to hunt squirrels. I doubt that anything would be left if you hit a squirrel or rabbit with a 10 or 12 ga..

 

[sureshotbob]

At one time I've owned a Browning BPS Stalker pump 10 ga. with a 30" bbl. but the pump had a very long stroke and every now and then I'd short stroke it . Next I got a N.E.F. Turkey Special double bbl. with 26" bbls. but it was just too heavy to carry around in the woods. And lastly I got a Remington SP10 Semi auto with 26" bbl. that I liked the best.
They are all gone now as I only use a Remington 870 Special purpose with a 26" bbl.
Shells are a little harder to find but not that bad. I NEVER had a problem with recoil with any of the above guns as I was 6' tall and 250-275 lbs.
I have not hunted much the last few years but do feel the 10 ga. did tend to shine hunting geese over decoy's with steel shot.

 

[ameridaddy]

I fired one once when I was young, a double with no recoil pad, and as heavy as it was, it was the only gun I've ever fired that hurt enough I didn't want to shoot it again.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

My best friend bought a used H&R 10 gauge, it had a 32 or 34 inch barrel. Included in the deal was a box of 25 shells #3 Buck, only 2 missing. He shot it, I shot it, He kept it about six months. When he sold it, the deal included a box of 25 shells #3 Buck, only 4 missing!

Ivan

 

[RILEY31]

I have never seen anyone shoot one butted up to their shoulder.Around here we only use them for sand hill cranes.We lay on the ground put the butt under our armpit butt on the ground and shoot cranes as they fly over.

 

[Class III]

I've got a BPS Stalker in the safe. It's been retired from duck and goose hunting for about 15 years. It's now used exclusively for turkey hunting. I had mine fitted with an 8 ounce mercury filled kick killer cylinder in the rear stock, a Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad replaced the hard rubber butt plate and the chamber was back bored soon after I bought it. It was BRUTAL to shoot after a handful of shells before the modifications.


Class III

 

[silentflyer]

One of my great uncles had one, shot it once when I was about 14, it was a single barrel and kicked like a mule. He was a huge man around 300 lbs and tall, didn't seem to bother him. I believe one of his son's has it now. I am glad it is his, not mine.

 

[OLDSTER]

10 gauge

I was fortunate to inherit a high grade 10 ga. double from my grandfather in 1963. It is a Defourney and Severin custom with all the top-of-the-line features. We do lots of goose hunting up here, but all 12 ga. autos. But once a year, when the weather is nice, I take the 10 along for a few ceremonial shots . I'm gonna take a few photos of the beautiful double and I'll post them here

 

[DocB]

I picked up a Parker 10 Gage Double nearly 35 years ago for $300. The serial number dates it to 1876. It has the under lever, two big hammers, and must weigh at least 12 pounds. After getting it, I bought some shells, opened them up, and replaced the powder with Pyrodex. That was a very expensive reloading option. It shot really good. The amount of smoke emitted from the ends of the barrels was amazing. Since the condition of the gun was around 90%, I haven't shot it since. I just wanted to say I had shot a 10 gage.

 

[Richard Simmons]

Never owned nor fired a 10ga however, that being said I believe you'll get the same or perhaps better preformance from a 3.5" 12ga as well as easier to find ammo and more and varied platforms to choose from.

 

[tug700]

In 1961 an older gun friend took me deer hunting. He loaned me a Parker 10 gauge double barrel. He hand loaded reduced charge ammo. I killed a doe and never felt the recoil. Never shot the gun again, so, I am not familiar with recoil of a full charge 10 gauge.

 

[CajunBass]

I briefly considered getting one of the Ithaca 10 gauge semi's back in the day to use for deer hunting with buckshot. Then I did a little investigation and discovered that the factory buckshot loads for it, really didn't offer enough of an advantage over the 3" 12 gauge I was already shooting to justify the price of the Ithaca, which I think was about $750.00. That was in the 80's I guess, when a Remington 1100 3" magnum was about $250-275.00 or so.

There was a fellow who hunted with a hunt club I occasionally hunted with, who used a Spanish 10 double, but I never knew him to actually fire it.

 

[tops]

It seems to me that the same shot charge in a larger bore shoots a better pattern. About 50 yrs. ago a fox hunting friend had a 10 ga. SXS and the load IIRC was 5 drs. equiv. with 2 oz. of shot. It was a killer. Larry

 

[Bozz10mm]

I have never seen anyone shoot one butted up to their shoulder.Around here we only use them for sand hill cranes.We lay on the ground put the butt under our armpit butt on the ground and shoot cranes as they fly over.

What does crane taste like?

 

[forindooruseonly]

Yes, I owned a BPS Stalker 10 gauge many years ago. I was out at the DeKalb range on Goddard Rd. attempting to pattern it, and getting the **** kicked out of me with every shot.

I see I'm not the only one whose experience with the BPS was punishing. The recoil was bad, but the BPS 10 gauge I had whacked my cheekbone with every shot. After half a box of shells it looked like my face had gone three rounds with a professional boxer.

It was a gorgeous gun, deep blue and with nice wood, but it didn't fit me for anything and the 10 gauge kicked much worse than I could stand.

That gun is the only gun that made me truly angry to shoot. I had ordered it, paid for it, and bought a bunch of ammo, so I felt obligated to shoot it, and it just made me madder than heck to do so. Finally traded it off. I still have half a box of ammo laying around here somewhere.

 

[Class III]

What does crane taste like?

Sandpaper.

 

[OLDSTER]

Crane

Sandpaper.

The best recipe for Sandhill Crane is this;

a Fifth of Jack Daniels

16 OZ chicken broth

2 large cans mushroom soup

2 tablespoons garlic powder

Put crane breasts in slow cooker and cover with mixture.

Cook for a week-throw away the crane-serve the gravy over buiscuits

 

[RILEY31]

They make tamales out of them.They are pretty good.

 

[lawdog45]

I used an Ithaca Mag 10 with 30" barrel for several year for waterfowl and turkey. In the early days of nontoxic shot it worked well with course shot, about the same as a 2 3/4" 12 gauge with lead shot. It was consistent on ducks at 45-50 yards. As nontoxic shot loads improved it was not much more effective than a 3" 12 gauge. It was great with heavy loads of copper plated #5 shot on turkeys but just to heavy to walk the woods with.

 

[s&wchad]

I've got a Browning Gold 10 auto. I bought it years ago for goose hunting, but only took it out it a few times. The recoil really isn't that bad. A 3-1/2" 10 ga will put more shot in the air than a 12 ga, but the increased effective range is offset by the unwieldiness of the gun. Mine has a 28" barrel and it's a big heavy beast that I just can't shoot as well as a 12 ga.

I also had a rather bad experience with mine that soured me to it. I was cleaning it after a hunt. Rather than pulling the barrel to clean it properly, I put a saturated patch on a brush and ran it down the bore from the muzzle end. The patch came off in the action, so I stuck my finger in the ejection port to put it back in place. I somehow managed to trip the bolt, which smashed my finger and jabbed the extractor under the base of my fingernail. I instinctively yanked my finger out and spent the next 5 hours at the ER. My nail eventually did grow back and I learned a valuable lesson: I no longer stick my fingers in the ejection port of an autoloader for any reason.

 

[Lonegle57]

My father-in-law collected Brownings and Winchesters. He had a Browning BPS in his collection. Thinking it would give me another 10 yards for turkeys, I borrowed it for a season. It didn't pattern well with the chokes he had and I got real tired of having my thumb slam my nose with each shot. I did manage to take a turkey but told him he should sell it, it was not worth the punishment to shoot it. I honestly dont see an advantage over a twelve gauge for turkeys.

 

[JohnRippert]

This thread reminds me of the 8ga Viggo Mortenson's character used in "Appaloosa".

 

[dave1918a2]

Over the years I have had several 10 gauge guns. Still have the Beretta 10 ga double. I reloaded using components from Ballistic Products and had loads that would print 70% patterns of #2 at 80 yards, down to 2oz of #12 with a spredder card. the only way I could hit a Dove. I remember one trip to Kansas Pheasant hunting. Cold and snowy and birds were getting up 50 yds away. After lunch I broke out the 10 with some long range #5 loads. While the guys hounded Me about that heavy hog I was carrying, They shut up at days end when I had My limit and They were skunked. I still love the 10 gauge and even have a muzzle loader 10 gauge that I hunt grouse with.

 

[OLDSTER]

10 gauge

These are some photos of the double described in post #14