new first shotgun

Apr 2011
1
0
seattle, washington
hi!

i'm new to this forum! i'm monika, i've been shooting fairly regularly for the last three years and owned a glock 19 since then. however, three weeks ago i went out and bought a benelli, 12g pistol grip pump action as i had desperately been coveting a shotgun! i was going to get the mossberg but found it was too LONG for me! (ha, imagine that!) so the benelli fit better and wasn't that much more in price. i could get a collapsable stock but honestly i'd rather learn to use it as is.

anyway, my concern is i feel really awkward right now with loading and unloading it when i'm at the range. before purchasing, i had never used a shotgun before so it was my first experience with one. now, i remember when i bought my glock it took me a few months to get 100% comfortable with it and now it's like an extension of my hand. does this come with practice? i feel awkward and clumsy with it! i love it and certainly don't regret purchasing it! i just haven't had a lot of time to make it out to the range as i'm a grad student and been working at my internship and trying to write a huge research paper so i can graduate.

has anyone else had a similar experience with a shotgun or any other type of gun?

thanks!
monika
 
Apr 2011
225
0
Corvallis, OR
with experience it gets better, but i find shooting shotguns with a pistol grip is always awkward (used a mossberg500 in the army and later bought the same thing at a local gun show), i actually need to get a full stock for it.
i find it odd that it was "too long" for you, hmmm... but with time you will always get better with your tools.
 
Feb 2011
258
0
Seattle, Wa
Maybe you looked at the wrong model Mossberg? I have a Mossberg 500 Tactical Persuader 12g 18.5" Brl, they do make some that are much longer though, how do you aim with a pistol grip.....do you shoot from the hip?
EDIT: Welcome to the forum!

moss50003.jpg
 
Jan 2010
689
0
Pacific NW
Like the man said. Practise and get familar with what you bought.
When you first tried riding a bicycle it took time to get used to it.
Same goes with a firearm.
 
Apr 2011
225
0
Corvallis, OR
Maybe you looked at the wrong model Mossberg? I have a Mossberg 500 Tactical Persuader 12g 18.5" Brl, they do make some that are much longer though, how do you aim with a pistol grip.....do you shoot from the hip?
EDIT: Welcome to the forum!

moss50003.jpg

yup, from the hip, as i said i need a stock imo, but in the army we only used them for non-lethal and lock breaching, i would like it to be used for more, but live and learn...

DSC04730-Copy.jpg
 
May 2011
255
0
Woodinville WA
yup, from the hip, as i said i need a stock imo, but in the army we only used them for non-lethal and lock breaching, i would like it to be used for more, but live and learn...

DSC04730-Copy.jpg

That gun pictured is incredibly versatile. Get a longer barrel for sport shooting or hunting, get a standard style stock... Heck I've seen crazy deals online from folks who switched to pistol or folding, or AR style and sell the stock synthetic. Like 10 bucks. Or go with wood and have a little less explaining to do to the authorities if you ever really have to use it.

I slapped an 835 barrel on my 18.5 inch 590a1 (only works on the 5 shot magazine model, not on the 8 shot magazine) and it's the gun I take to shoot clays with! Can't shoot 3.5 inch shells because they won't eject consistently, but other than that it makes my HD gun my sporting/hunting gun in seconds with no other mods.
 
Dec 2010
62
0
Salem, OR
My wife also thinks that my 590 is too long; but my wife is only 5'3" and doesnt have long arms. Just keep practicing with it. Sit down, load and unload it a couple of times. You will be more comfortable as time goes on.
 
May 2011
255
0
Woodinville WA
for loading and unloading, you have two options. Have lots of muscle, or don't.

If you don't have lots of muscle (or even if you do), try this. You're holding the gun in firing position. If you're right handed start rolling the gun to the left until the buttstock is almost flat horizontally. Lower your left hand just enough to make the buttstock lay flat against your shooting hand forearm. the weight of the gun is now supported against your forearm. Now bring your shooting arm down so that you pinch the other side of the stock against your side while still keeping the gun pretty much on it's side. No matter what your size or strength level you can learn to support the gun in that position, and you're in a great position to both feed one in the chamber, and fill the mag tube.

Hopefully I described it well enough for you to visualize.

Edited to add: oops. Got confused with the different pics in this thread. The OP has a pistol grip only right? Well, ditch it. It's useless for anything but door breaching. Either get a collapsible stock, or a go to a gun shop and inquire about "short length of pull" stocks. Basically shortie stocks. Anyone who has taken their shotgun to a range and patterned it quickly discovers that at typical Home defense range, the shot pattern is more likely a teacup than a basketball. shooting from the hip with a shotgun under 10 yards is barely better than shooting a pistol that way. Would you shoot a pistol from the hip if your life depended on it? I just tried out some of the Federal Flite-Control buck, which is so tight it's scary. . You want to know what my pattern was at 7 yards? under 2 inches. At 15 it wasn't much bigger. It's like 9 dudes who know how to shoot firing 9mm bullets at one spot.
 
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May 2011
255
0
Woodinville WA
This is a good read...(I thought?) I am new to shotguns also :ciao:


Different buck behaves differently. If you read boxotruth, you know about penetration and safety issues. Check this out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYHIrUYRiBk

Bring a stocked shotgun up to shoulder and shoot centermass with the right ammo and you don't have to worry about strays hitting your kids, dog, neighbors, etc.

Everyone needs to get out and shoot their defense guns with a couple different loads, and know what they will do. I've pretty relegated my supply of slugs to target shooting, and have flite controls for my HD load. If you can hit a man sized target 100% every time hip shooting a pistol grip gun, you're WAY out of my league.
 
Feb 2011
258
0
Seattle, Wa
Different buck behaves differently. If you read boxotruth, you know about penetration and safety issues. Check this out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYHIrUYRiBk

Bring a stocked shotgun up to shoulder and shoot centermass with the right ammo and you don't have to worry about strays hitting your kids, dog, neighbors, etc.

Everyone needs to get out and shoot their defense guns with a couple different loads, and know what they will do. I've pretty relegated my supply of slugs to target shooting, and have flite controls for my HD load. If you can hit a man sized target 100% every time hip shooting a pistol grip gun, you're WAY out of my league.

I just installed a green laser on a friend of mines FN SLP (12G laser bore sighter, zero @ 20 yards) so he can shoot from the hip in the dark :rock:

FNM0018mb.png
 
May 2011
255
0
Woodinville WA
I just installed a green laser on a friend of mines FN SLP (12G laser bore sighter, zero @ 20 yards) so he can shoot from the hip in the dark :rock:

:lol: Okay... Your friend gets a pass on the hip shooting thing! I saw a dude demonstrating lasers on pistols on the Tellyvizion. He was looking around the side of box, and shooting over the top of the box... Never would have occured to me to use one that way!:rock:
 
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