S&W Model 3000 12 ga.

[dwpmusic]

I have a Model 3000 S&W 12 gauge shotgun which I purchased in 1983. It came with a rifled slug barrel. I have a few questions I'd like to ask. Will it hurt this barrel to fire buckshot loads in it? Any idea what pattern you'd get? Would the ideal barrel be a full or modified choke for buckshot? Would the purchase of another barrel be possible since Smith is out of the shotgun business. Any hope would be appreciated.

 

[squidsix]

You end up with a ring shaped pattern. I have shot buckshot from rifled barrels before, and you get a donut pattern with ZERO pellets in the middle.

 

[dwpmusic]

Thanks for your reply. So there's practically no spread to the pattern at all I assume. But no chance of damaging the barrel?

 

[OKFC05]

Would the ideal barrel be a full or modified choke for buckshot?

Neither. Imp Cyl gives a much better pattern. Large shot in tight chokes give poor results.

So there's practically no spread to the pattern at all I assume

You assume wrong. Rifled barrels give horrible results with shot loads, speading the shot widely and unevenly. Lead shot is safe, but steel shot will damage a rifled barrel.

To be clear, there is a difference between a rifled barrel, which has spiral grooves, and a barrel for rifled slugs, which is usually just a smoothbore IC barrel with sights. The rifled barrel works best with saboted slugs, while the smooth slug barrel works best with the soft lead Foster slugs. The smoothbore barrel works fine with buckshot.

 

[dwpmusic]

Thanks. Well, here's what's on the barrel. "Model 3000 Pump 12 ga. 3inch chamber rifled slug. Mfg in Japan to S&W Spec" I bought this shotgun in 1983 from a local sporting goods store which was going out of business. I doubt it has had a box of slugs fired through it. There is no rifling that I can see in the barrel. So I'm assuming that the smoothbore barrel is what I have and it would be OK to run 00 through it. I'm just a novice and hate to ask such simple questions. Would an Imp Cyl barrel be your choice for slugs and buckshot?

 

[squidsix]

You would see rifling very clearly. You have a smooth bore barrel, and slugs or shot will shoot beautifully out of it.
And YES, Imp Cyl is my favorite slug/shot barrel.

 

[dwpmusic]

Hey, thanks, I want to run some 00 through it. Loaded with a slug and a 00 every other round would seem to me to be a formidable answer to most adversaries.

 

[OKFC05]

Loaded with a slug and a 00 every other round would seem to me to be a formidable answer to most adversaries.

One of the toughest shooting exercises for me is shooting the BG target with a "hostage" target partially in front of it, using buckshot.
Try it and see if you can hit the BG without also getting the hostage with buckshot.

Rather than mixing them, I prefer to start with a couple buckshot and end with slugs. If necessary, I can shuck out the buckshot to get to the slugs, but if they are mixed together, I quickly lose track of what is chambered.

 

[dwpmusic]

That's an excellent suggestion. You've got to be spot on with that theory. No way you couldn't endanger a hostage with a load of 00. Thanks for that idea.

 

[squidsix]

I did this drill in an Awerbuck class, and now ONLY use slugs for social work.

 

[dwpmusic]

I've often thought "What if I had to let a load of 00 go inside my house?" It would have to be a bloody mess, as the Brits would say.