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considering going hog hunting with 12 ga. has anyone here ever done this. any suggestions as far as ammo or anything else
Thanks,

All I can think of is using rifled slugs and getting within 75yds or closer. Shouldn't be a problem, though. Know where you're hitting.........take it to the range and see if you can get an idea of where your round will hit.

A slug will dispatch a hog easily when used within the limits of the gun and shooter. Use an open cylider choke or a slug barrel.

Thanks for the help guys. now i am going to look real stupid this gun was my dads and i got it when he passed away I know very little about shotguns what is a open choke or slug barrel? how can I tell? This is a winchester model 50 that he used for bird hunting only.

It is not stupid. You will have some good help shortly from the shotgun experts on the board. I am not familiar w/ the Winchester 50 at all.

General info though.
Chokes on the shotgun tighten the shot pattern.
Cylinder bore is a straight tube w/ no tightening of the shot pattern as it leaves the barrel. Good for Personal Defense in a short barrel
Improved Cylinder is a very little tightening. Usually for quail or other close wing shooting.
Modified is a moderate tightening. Ducks, dove at longer ranges say 45yd or so.
Full choke is your tightest pattern. Squirrel, geese, high flying ducks Sandhill Crane...
"Open choke" is sometimes used to describe either Cylinder Bore or Improved Cylinder.
A slug barrel is one that is rifled to spin the slug & has rifle sites on it.

waterpump1 wrote:Thanks for the help guys. now i am going to look real stupid this gun was my dads and i got it when he passed away I know very little about shotguns what is a open choke or slug barrel? how can I tell? This is a winchester model 50 that he used for bird hunting only.

If it were mine, I would continue to use only "shot" through it.

It is a well built shotgun and a popular one for it's time, very soft recoiling as well.

If you want to look up the date of manufacture you can enter the serial number in the link below:

http://armscollectors.com/sn/winlookup. ... inxx50.dat" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are certain "soft" slugs that can be fired from your shotgun regardless of choke, but generally...you will want to use an open cylinder or improved cylinder choke. Some folks get away with a modified choke, but deformation of the slug can become extreme...and this results in poor accuracy.

I wouldn't want to risk damaging a shotgun that probably holds some sentimental value for you. The wrong type slug (hard slug) in a tightly choked barrel could cause you problems.

The barrel should be marked somewhere indicating the choke. If your dad used it for bird hunting... chances are it is modified (possibly full). These were popular choices back then (still are).

Love to see some pics. It is kind of a unique shotgun in that it has floating chamber.

Grandpa always told me never to fire slugs out of a choke barrel. Dunno if that still holds true today but if you've got a choke on there, I'd go for 00 buck. You can pick up some decent shotgun defense ammo that will work pretty well but your ability to engage the piggies will decrease since the shot will spread out and slow down faster. Good luck with it, let us know how you do.

On another note, Walmart sells Rossi Break barrel rifles for $85 in your choice of caliber. Ask to see their catalog and order it up. I spent under $200 on my budget pig gun with sling, scope, rings and a box of ammo in the 30-06 flavor. Sets off alarms in the parking lot and packs a punch!!!

Way too much gun for hogs....

http://www.gamousa.com/Videos/62_wmv.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

age_ranger wrote:Grandpa always told me never to fire slugs out of a choke barrel. Dunno if that still holds true today but if you've got a choke on there, I'd go for 00 buck. You can pick up some decent shotgun defense ammo that will work pretty well but your ability to engage the piggies will decrease since the shot will spread out and slow down faster. Good luck with it, let us know how you do.

On another note, Walmart sells Rossi Break barrel rifles for $85 in your choice of caliber. Ask to see their catalog and order it up. I spent under $200 on my budget pig gun with sling, scope, rings and a box of ammo in the 30-06 flavor. Sets off alarms in the parking lot and packs a punch!!!

May or may not be the case today. There is a plethora of slugs to choose from these days. Some are specially made (ribbed on the sides/soft lead) that will fire just fine through any choke shotgun (provided it is a modern steel barrel). OTOH, there are hard slugs that could damage a choked barrel....and there are other slugs that won't damage the barrel, but will deform so badly that they would be inaccurate.

There are rifled slugs, slugs with sabots, soft slugs, hard slugs, etc....

A person wanting to shoot slugs through a smooth bore shotgun (choked) needs to study up first.

I have nothing to add, other than when I first scanned the subject line, I thought it said, "Job hunting with 12ga"

the barrel is marked imp. cyl. I assume this means improved cylender

I've been shooting slugs through a Imp. Cylinder barrel on my Remington 1100 for some time. I shoot Brenneke ( spelling? ) saboted slugs. I get about 4" groups at 50 yds. which is as far as I would ever shoot ( I use it for whitetail ). The one thing that would really helps out is good sights. I bought tru-glow sights that clamp on to my vent ribbed barrel, which helped alot.

I haven't tried these, but I've been told that Dixie Slugs' Tri-ball shells are a viable option for hogs if you can't use slugs. They also make some wicked slugs designed with hog hunting in mind. (the Tri Balls are too long for the Win 50, so this is just general info)

http://www.dixieslugs.com/products.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Dixie Tri-ball II (12 ga 3”) and Tri-Ball III (3 ½”).

Revet wrote:I haven't tried these, but I've been told that Dixie Slugs' Tri-ball shells are a viable option for hogs if you can't use slugs. They also make some wicked slugs designed with hog hunting in mind. (the Tri Balls are too long for the Win 50, so this is just general info)

http://www.dixieslugs.com/products.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Dixie Tri-ball II (12 ga 3”) and Tri-Ball III (3 ½”).

Dang!! That's some expensive stuff!!