Bolt action shotgun

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RugerMcMarlin

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How many of you have tried, for what ever reason, a bolt action shotgun, and found it to be better than you thought it would be.:D. Pleasantly Surprised


Oh, and I forgot, if you hate them, and anybody that has one, we really what to hear from you too.:)
 
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"Back in the day" you used to see a lot of them. Sears, Wards, and most every department store and auto parts place used to sell them. They were mostly Marlin or Mossberg I suppose. A lot of them were Marlin "Goose Gun"'s I remember. LONG barrels. And a lot of them had adjustable chokes too. I guess if you could only afford one gun, you wanted it to be as versatile as possible.

I'm sure I shot a few at one time or another. I don't remember much about them other than that they seemed to work. They bridged the gap between a single-shot and a "pump gun" or "automatic." Mostly people who were less well off used them. With buckshot they'd put a deer on the ground as quick as anything else. With shot they'd knock a squirrel out of a tree, or roll a rabbit in a broomstraw field. I don't remember too many people hunting birds at all back then. That was sort of a "city folk" thing.
 
The first firearm that I bought with my own hard earned money was in 1973 at age 20 and it was a bolt action Mossberg 385 K.
I cant remember what I paid for it but I am sure it was under $60.00.
Killed a lot of small game with it and when it was not in the field it was placed by the bed with two rounds of #3 Buck always in the magazine.
Unfortunately it was stolen in 1985 when my home was burglarized.
Over the years I have scoured GunBroker,pawn shops,and gun shows looking for a clean replacement.
Sadly what I usually find is poorly maintained 385's complete with rust,which I abhor on a firearm.
One day I will stumble across one suitable for my tastes and buy it.
They really were good guns.
The 20 gauge version was a bit lighter than the 12 gauge and was easier to swing at game.
I found a very clean 12 gauge 395 K a few years ago and bought it for $100.00 but because it was heavier and more cumbersome I sold it a year later.
The 20 gauge is a better fit for me.
 
Recently I picked up a Mossberg 185K - a 20 gauge bolt gun, C-lect choke. I was pleasantly surprised. The gun only weighs a tad over six pounds. For upland hunting, I could carry this all day. With a little practice, I am about as fast on a second shot as I am with a pump gun. The bolt on this gun is surprisingly smooth....rotate my hand up and back and then forward and down and I am ready to shoot the second shot.
Pete
 
I still have three Mossbergs.
One old .410, a 12 guage rifled slug gun and a 12 guage modified smoothbore.
Still get them out and hunt with them from time to time.
 
My first shotgun was a Single shot Bolt Action Mossberg. I still have it,..and I still use it occasionally. It has taken a lot of small game over the years,..and yes,.more thana few deer.....my kids will get it when I am gone.
 
For some strange, crazy reason that I still can't comprehend, I've purchased four JC Higgins/Sears Model 10 12 gauges this month. The ones that had the bolt recall on them. They're sitting at my FFL guy's place right now and today I'm gonna go over there and start the Dros. Two of them have no bolts (cuz for many years there was a $165.00 'bounty' on them, but the other two are in great shape and full functional. Including shipping, the Dros and transfer fees, I've got less than $385.00 in to the entire lot. I'm really looking forward to get them all to my shop to play with, then out to our gun range. Especially since I've never fired a shotgun in my life before. When I do I'll post some pics and a little report, if any of you would be interested.......


(here's the two complete ones)

JCHigginsshotgun.gif


shotgun3.gif


shotgun2.gif
 
I own a pristine Marlin bolt 12 gauge, and though I don't use it very often, it's not worth enough money to motivate me to sell it. It's a bit of a novelty for sure, so it's worth keeping if only for that reason.

Marlin55GOEX014.jpg
 
The first shotgun I ever fired (think I was almost 12 but might have been younger) was a 12 bolt action that a friend of my Dad's had on his farm. That first and only shot was at an oil can set up on top of a fence. I can still remember hitting the can and how badly that gun bit my shoulder.... it left a lasting impression. Years later I came to learn shotguns from a cop's perspective but only fired a bolt action that one time, and that was a bit over 50 years ago now.
 
Although most of these old bolt action shotguns fall under the utility gun...Read cheap,they can be a pretty good home defense gun and especially one in rough to semi rough condition because the barrel can be cut down(keep it legal!!) and since they held two in the magazine and one in the chamber you had three shots vs the two for a short coach double barrel.
And as I pointed out before you can keep two in the magazine so it's relatively safe to store as long as children are not about and it's only a fast bolt throw away from hot to go.
Gotta find me another clean old Mossberg 385K.
 
My first personally-owned shotgun was a used Mossberg .410 repeater, a gift from my father on my 11th BD. I'd outgrown the little Iver Johnson Champion single-shot from his own boyhood that I'd learned to hunt with.

It worked out pretty well for me for quite a while, even though as a southpaw "doubling" on bobwhites was just as unlikely as it had been with the IJ. At least I could now use 3" cartridges and it fit me much better, which seemed to be enough to help me limit-out a lot more often.
 
I may trim down the barrel on one of my four Higgins and keep her around the house. Cheap entertainment. The other cool thing is is that these Higgins actually hold 5 rounds total....
 
El Mariachi...What was the deal on the bolt recall and more so the $165.00 bounty??
 
A couple of moronic morons and a boat load of lawyers.....:D



Is there a recall on JC Higgins model 58316 12 gauge bolt action shotgun?




Yes, there has been a recall on the 12 ga. guns for several years. I personally have sent in 3 bolts. The model numbers are 583.13 through 583.22. You can find info on where to call by typing in J.C. Higgins recall on a search engine. I believe it is 800 817-9165. I dont know if the recent merger has any effect on this rebate. The recall is baseless. It was the result of a person who was injured when he opened the bolt of of a model 10 jc higgins 583 3 12 gauge bolt action shotgun . The defect was not a result of actully firing,or the gun blowing up. The problem was that the bolt stop screw had been stripped wich allowed the bolt to come out. The shooter pulled the bolt out so fast and hard that it came out the gun and struck him in the eye. This accident was actully the falt of user . He should have not used the gun with stripped or missing bolt stop screw.If he did he should of atleast been a little more carefull. Any gun no matter how well made can be dangerous when put in service with defects . Sears recalled the guns to protect them selves. The model 10 was Sears own product they had bought the rights to manufacture the from Harrington & Richardson .H&R actually made almost the same model before WW2. It was known as m H&R 120 gamester. For Sears they were called 105 Ranger. After WW2 Sears bought the H&R Riesing pattent and had High Standard manufacture an improved version under the JC Higgins name [sears owned a good size part of High standard back then] the model 10 was made from 1945 to 1956 .In good condition they are one of the best bolt action shotguns ever made, and of higher quality than any thing in their class. They are very strong and safe shotguns. Sears is no longer buying bolts or reclling them no one knows how many perfectly good shotguns were ruined buy one mans stupidity .My advice would be If you have one have it checked by a compitent gun smith and enjoy it. They are old fashioned classics and still good hunters

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_there_...16_12_gauge_bolt_action_shotgun#ixzz1OsxrxpF3
 
Me, me, me!

Borrowed a 20 ga. Mossberg to hunt small game when I was a kid. Bought my own as my second shotgun eventually, got a brand new stock, and still love it as my favorite field gun. I eventually bought a 12 ga. Mossberg too!
 
Hocka Louis
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Join Date: May 22, 2011
Posts: 39

Me, me, me!

Borrowed a 20 ga. Mossberg to hunt small game when I was a kid. Bought my own as my second shotgun eventually, got a brand new stock, and still love it as my favorite field gun. I eventually bought a 12 ga. Mossberg too!
Click to expand...


Methinks we're gonna need to create a Team B.A.S. Club for this forum....:rolleyes:
 
Gosh, after reading this thread, I've all of a sudden got a hankerin' to dust off the ol' Marlin and put a box of shells through it. It always seems to get some attention at the range, too.
 
Sleazy,which model Marlin 55 is that?
I know they made three different ones.
A friend of mine Dad's had a 36 inch barreled goose gun and I knew another guy that had the model 55 Swamp Gun which is fairly rare.
And I have seen several of the adjustable choke model 55's with 26-28 inch barrels.
 
Years ago I bought one for a girlfriend to use as a HD gun. A JCHiggins 12.
I'm glad I shot it first, <deleted>. fast forward to a couple years ago, Some buddies come by the house, on their way to shoot Sporting Clays. My brother gets invited, he looked and could only come up with 16 ga shells.:uhoh:

Only gun he has 16 ga is a Mint Mossberg Bolt with C-lect choke,what the heck.They teased the crap out of him for about the first 3 stands. Then it got pretty quiet.He was pleasantly surprised. Couple weeks later, one of these guys shows up with a really nice Mossberg 410, with the little screw on chokes. So he gets that. We fool around with it. Now I got to have one. I buy 1 Mossberg 410 for my daughter, yeah right. Luckily she has turned out to be left eye dominant and shoots left handed, now its mine. It's kind of ballooned on us from there.

I bought a little canvas bag full of choke tubes for a Mossberg 20, so I'm on the hunt.:)
 
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RedCent, Have you shot it? I had one, Mauser, 2 shot 16 Ga, I was scared to shoot it. If you've been shooting yours, I'm gonna be UPSET at my self for getting rid of it.:(
 
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