I bought a 10 gauge

[Bald1]

What I really would have liked is a longer choked barrel. I would have cut it down to 18 1/4" and re installed front bead. Or even the SB2 model with shorter barrel. This gun , while not expensive is way to nice to start modifying. So I'll leave it as is and if it'll group slugs at a given distance I'll try it out , filling doe tags. But it needs to be minute of shoulder accurate at bow ranges.

 

[rosewood]

I found a deal on an American Arms single shot 10gauge maybe 15 years ago. Came with one box of shells. Gave $75 for it. Bought it just because. I fired 2 rounds thru it just to test function and it has been in the gun cabinet since.

I did run across an H&R 12 gauge slug gun at a LGS and the barrel on it is thick enough you would swear it was a 10 gauge, but it is stamped 12 gauge. Thing ways a ton.

I understand the 3.5" 12 gauge put the 10 gauge out of business. The 3.5" 12 gauge carries the same payload as the 10gauge and they boosted pressure to get the same performance of the 10 gauge. If I remember it right, Mossberg uses a 10 Gauge bore in their 835 and 935 shotguns. They have a 3.5" 12 gauge chamber but the larger bore of the 10 gauge to emulate it. This setup is no good for slugs however unless you buy a different barrel.

Rosewood

 

[CajunBass]

I knew of a couple of guys who deer hunted with one kind of 10 gauge or the other over the years. I remember one was a SXS double gun, and the other was a Marlin goose gun.

I flirted with the idea of getting an Ithaca semi-auto 10 (Roadblocker?) back then, but the buckshot loads available didn't seem to offer much, if anything over a 12 gauge magnum load. At least not factory anyway...handloads...might have been a different story. Since I already had a couple of 3", 12's the idea faded away.

 

[CH4]

I have no use for a 10 gauge, but always wanted a Browning BPS in 10. Hmmm, dove season opens next week and there's a gun show this weekend.

 

[Narragansett]

I probably would not do it, but I might believe steel shot would be OK, because being cylinder bore, there is no choke to stretch out. I believe that is an issue for a choked gun and the non compression of steel

 

[imakmst]

That shotgun is the equivalent to a mule with a attitude problem. But I'd try it one time. And one time would probably be more than enough. Good find though.

 

[john17427]

The story is that my grandfather had a double 10 gauge that had a propensity to let go with both barrels on occasion. He was in his pirogue one winter when a bunch of wood ducks suddenly dropped in. In his excitement he fired crossways instead of with the boat, and both barrels decided to go that time. Everything went in the bayou including the double 10. The only thing he got that day was pneumonia. His nephew went and fished everything out of the bayou and my grandfather gave him the 10 gauge. He replaced it with a 12 gauge Sterlingworth which I still have.

 

[ColbyBruce]

I once owned a BPS 10 gauge. I tried patterning it off a bench. That was brutal. When you go to pattern that gun, take a short step ladder and a bag. Place the bag on the ladder to rest the shotgun on and shoot standing up. It will hurt less and no elbows will be damaged from being thrust across a bench top.

Also, please make a video of you shooting ghat gun and post it here.

 

[chief38]

I suppose a 10 Ga. has its purpose in the woods against large game, however for me a 12Ga. is about as heavy as I would want to shoot. I have fired a 10 Ga a few times and was not loving it at the time.

That said, I too am guilty of buying guns with little to no real practical purpose just because I liked it.

 

[Drm50]

You have to be careful firing heavy loads of small shot in 10gauge. Especially firing at step angles at birds and such. One can accidentally seed the clouds and cause it to rain.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

As a Teen I have hunted with an Uncle's Double 10 Ga
Shells were always a looming problem, but nobody ever shot it enough for that to be much of a problem.

 

[LVSteve]

My shoulder is whimpering just looking at the pictures. I'm too skinny and bony to shoot heavy recoiling stuff like that without a strap on pad.

 

[sureshotbob]

I've had 3 10 ga. shotguns over the years.
The first one was a Browning BPS pump with 30" bbl. and synthetic stock I bought for goose and turkey. I had to send it back for a rebarrel as it had lock up problems I sold it a short time after that.

The second 10 ga. was a North American Arms Turkey Hunter side by side with 26" bbls. It was just too heavy to lug around in the woods so it got sold.

The third 10 ga. was a Remington SP 10 with a 26" or 28" bbl. if I remember correctly . It was a great turkey or goose gun but a bit heavy it got sold after I stopped hunting.

None of the above seemed to kick any harder than my 3" 12 ga.Remington 870 Special Purpose with a 26" vent rib bbl. or a 20" smooth bore slug bbl. with screw in chokes.

 

[SteveA]

In high school, one of my friends had a 10 gauge Spanish SXS. His Dad reloaded 3.5" shells with #9 shot and we took it dove hunting. You could see the pattern going out on birds. Looked like a bowling ball.

 

[krsmith58]

10 ga.

I've never fired a 10 ga. but bought an 870 supermag and had to fire a 3 1/2 inch buckshot just to know what to expect. it was not user friendly. i still have 4 out of a box of 5. krs\kenny

 

[Muley Gil]

I once owned a BPS 10 gauge. I tried patterning it off a bench. That was brutal. When you go to pattern that gun, take a short step ladder and a bag. Place the bag on the ladder to rest the shotgun on and shoot standing up. It will hurt less and no elbows will be damaged from being thrust across a bench top.

Also, please make a video of you shooting ghat gun and post it here.

Elmer Keith, who loved BIG bore rifles, always advocated using a bench rest with lots of sand bags where the shooter sat straight up so as to absorb the recoil.

 

[sceva]

A friend had one of those. We tried it on hand trap once using 3.5 mag loads after putting out 12 gauges away; about 3-4 shots each was enough.

 

[ColbyBruce]

Miley Gil, a friend's daughters stitched some Velcro straps to a couple of pot holders and wrap those around their elbows when shooting off the bench.

 

[pawngal]

What I really would have liked is a longer choked barrel. I would have cut it down to 18 1/4" and re installed front bead. Or even the SB2 model with shorter barrel. This gun , while not expensive is way to nice to start modifying. So I'll leave it as is and if it'll group slugs at a given distance I'll try it out , filling doe tags. But it needs to be minute of shoulder accurate at bow ranges.

Foster slugs will give the best accuracy but expensive and hard to find..

 

[Buick]

The Ithaca Mag 10 is a sweet shooting gun and really the cream of the crop of waterfowling guns. It swings smoothly, handles lively, and kicks no worse than a 3" 12 gauge. Try one if you get the chance.