Shockwave!

Got to the range today.
Took slugs, buckshot, dove loads, and heavy #6 shells.
The gun is very manageable, but can be a real handful when shooting full power OO buck and slugs. I suggest wearing a glove on the offhand as the recoil causes the fore end to grate on that hand severely under heavy recoil with slugs and buckshot.
No handling problems shooting “from the hip” and with slugs/buckshot it was easy to hold the gun at eye level and use the front bead sight.
I also took some Aguila Mini-Shells in their buckshot load, which has seven #4 buck pellets and four O buck pellets.
I didn’t pattern the shot loads, but below are the Aguila Mini shotshells at 5 and 10 yards.
From some videos I’d seen I expected a wider pellet spread, but was pleased with the results.
From 5 yards I got a spread approximately 3.5” x 3.5”, and from 10 yards it was 6” x 6”; certainly adequate to put all pellets in a torso size target up to 10 yards.

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As reported several weeks ago, with 3 on board here, we get results of 3 guns and many different shot loads.
These guns defy what we thought we knew about shotgun patterning. They regularly shoot tighter patterns than our 12 inch and 18 inch guns. Crazy???
 
I removed the grip from my Gatekeeper II and pulled on a piece of bicycle inner tube. I haven't taken the gun out for a dance yet (maybe tomorrow) but it seems to make the grip a little less slippery.


Bike tube.....that thought crossed my mind as well. Can you tell me what size the tube was that you started with?

Thanks in advance.
 
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Bike tube.....that thought crossed my mind as well. Can you tell me what size the tube was that you started with?

Thanks in advance.
I really don't remember exactly. I think it was 1.25", but it might have been 1.5". I picked up a couple of bicycle inner tubes of various widths from the local bike shop. Of course they were punctured and going to be tossed anyway. I called the shop up beforehand and asked them to hold a few different sized ones for me and they did. There are a few uses for old inner tubes. BTW, someone suggested using alcohol as a lubricant to slide the piece of inner tube over the grip. I just kept working it on and tugged and tugged. Someone else suggested removing the white powder before sliding it on. They both might be good suggestions, but they came too late for me.
 
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You guys are just awful... here I was, minding my business and saying 'I don't need another gun' to myself but after reading this thread, I just placed an order for a Shockwave. Looks like it will be a BLAST! :)
 
Here's my Mossberg Shockwave.
Awesome shotgun.
Only problem I found is the grips/forend is to slick.
So I stippled mine. Gave it a much better grip. :)
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Nice!

I've never been a fan of most (not all) of the stippling jobs I have seen on pistols, but that is pretty subtle in appearance. At first I didn't even notice it had been done. If it is effective I could go for a treatment like that.

Assuming you did this with a soldering iron... what tip did you use?
 
I finally was able to escape and take my Remington 870 Gatekeeper II out for a dance. It is cylinder bore.They called Josh Randall's cut down Winchester a "Mare's Leg". They should call this one a "Mule's Kick". Seriously, it isn't for the faint of heart. I shot 25 low brass 12 ga.#8 target loads at some metal knock down plates at about 5 yds. to get the feel for the gun. With these loads, the gun is controllable. As someone suggested, I could see right away that installing the strap on the forend is going to happen. If that doesn't suit me, I may try a forend pistol grip, like the Tac Star. The bicycle inner tube sleeve worked well. I fired the rest of my shells at 15 yds. The Winchester Military 00 buckshot load 2 3/4" (the OD and black rounds) was hard to handle (the strap would have helped), but I won't be using them. The pattern of the Winchester Military was around a 13" spread. I shot some Hornady Critical Defense 2 3/4 00 buckshot load with Versatite Wad was much more controllable. There are only 8 pellets and it is advertised as 1600 fps. The patterns at 15 yds. were 7" extreme spread. I shot a couple of old slugs at 15 yds. and they hit where the barrel was pointed. I fired all rounds holding the gun at arms length. I was using the front bead for reference, but the gun was aimed high (I didn't want my right hand to contact my nose). My groups were about 2 feet higher than where I pointed the bead. Nevertheless all my patterns were on my 2'x2' target. My conclusions are that the Gatekeeper II needs a strap on the forend or a pistol grip to aid in keeping one's hand on the forend. I also recommend gloves for range sessions. I used Nomex flight gloves with the leather palms. I recommend low recoil 2 3/4" defense loads in 00 buck. #4 buck might be good as well, but I didn't have any on hand. I'll be sticking with the Hornady Critical Defense 2 3/4" loads unless I find something less punishing (I doubt that I'll find any shells that pattern tighter). Holding the gun out at arms length, the gun never came close to my face. This may be a problem for people with limited upper body strength.


 
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I bought this Shockwave a few weeks ago and was surprised at the recoil flip. I'm usually not recoil conscious, but come on, It's a sawed off 12 gauge.
I took my barrel to Magnaport and had it ported. I just picked it up today and shot it, expecting an improvement. I was pleasantly surprised at how little the recoil was, even with Magnum 00 Buck.
As I get older, the arthritis in my hand has had a negative effect on my grip. The Magnaporting is a God send.
 

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I bought this Shockwave a few weeks ago and was surprised at the recoil flip. I'm usually not recoil conscious, but come on, It's a sawed off 12 gauge.
I took my barrel to Magnaport and had it ported. I just picked it up today and shot it, expecting an improvement. I was pleasantly surprised at how little the recoil was, even with Magnum 00 Buck.
As I get older, the arthritis in my hand has had a negative effect on my grip. The Magnaporting is a God send.

That sure looks nice. How much does Magnaport get for a job like that? Did they have to refinish the barrel? A very functional update to your Shockwave. Thanks for sharing.
 
I may buy the Remington model when it comes out. I do not like the strap, nor do I like the location of the safety. I am a lifetime Remington owner. Nothing wrong with Mossberg, they make fine shotguns. I had two, sold them over the safety location.
 
I was going to wait for an 870 since I carried one in my scout car since 1985, but I talked with several of my friends who own gun shops and they told me that the quality of Remington's have gone down since they became part of the Freedom group.
Magnaport did not have to refinish the barrel to port it.
 
Found a Shockwave in an LGS today. It will cost me a few more bucks, but I'll be supporting a local outfit and the two fire fighters that own it. Fire fighters were always there for me and I'll be there for them. They're part of the brotherhood. Plus my niece married one. I'll pick it up tomorrow. :)
 
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