Improvements to Bolt Action Shotgun

[Charlie Martinez]

Has anyone manufactured a larger capacity magazine for bolt action shotguns? My Mossberg bolt action is used for HD but only loads 3 (one in the chamber and 2 in the magazine). I assume this limitation was intended to comply with hunting restrictions. However many people use bolt shotguns for purposes other than hunting such as HD or varmint control where higher capacity would be legal & a great improvement

I have never seen aftermarket higher capacity magazines for them. Aside from what I assume is limited market demand what else could have prevented someone from producing them?

 

[mcb]

I think most people selecting a shotgun for home defense are picking pump guns. The bolt action shotguns were very much focused almost exclusively on water fowl hunting or dedicated slug guns. I have never seen a high capacity magazine for a bolt action shotgun. Only the magazine fed pump and semi-auto shotgun.

 

[12Bravo20]

I doubt that you will find any higher capacity magazines for bolt action shotguns. The reason for this is that they are meant for hunting use and a lot of states have capacity limits for shotgun hunting which is a total of three rounds, one in the chamber and two in the magazine. Moat pump and semi auto shotguns come with a plug to limit capacity for this same reason.

 

[Cvans]

As I recall somebody made a tube fed bolt action shotgun at one time. I don’t know if the capacity on those was higher or not.

 

[Virginian]

Bolt action shotguns were made for anything but wingshooting, especially waterfowling. Cheap and aimed at young small game hunters.

 

[gwpercle]

My Father bought a bolt action shotgun from Sears Roebuck in 1946 , J. C. Higgins model 583 a bolt action 16 gauge that had a tubular magazine like a pump but fed shells from the tube through a lifter and into the action when the bolt was worked . I believe it held 5 rounds ...since he didn't duck hunt he didn't have a block in the magazine limiting it to 3 shells .
I believe it was made by High Standard and was their model 10 .
I have never seen any magazine extensions for these bolt action shotguns but they held 5 shots as is ... bolt action shotguns may not have been popular but Dad was a great shot and it was the only long arm he used during his life of hunting .
Gary

 

[12Bravo20]

Some of the older bolt action shotguns were tube fed while others had a removable box magazine or a blind magazine. Some of the tube magazine version might have held 5 shells and included a plug to limit them to two shells. I don't remember off the top of my head.

I have never seen anything other than 2 round magazines for the shotguns that use removable box mags. Even the new Savage bolt action shotguns only come with a 2 round mag.

 

[gobsauce]

As I recall somebody made a tube fed bolt action shotgun at one time. I don’t know if the capacity on those was higher or not.

I own one! JC Higgins 583-16, it's 5+1 I think. Pretty sure one can plug up the tube to limit the capacity.

 

[Gerd33]

I had a Stevens 59A .410 tube fed bolt shotgun at one point which I'm fairly certain held more than 3 total rounds at least if using 2 1/2" shells (4+1 maybe).
The issue I had with it was that it never fed reliably from the magazine so I generally just used it as a single shot. It accounted for a lot of squirrels when I was growing up though.

 

[FL-NC]

I have a Mossberg 20 gauge bolt action with the 2 shot magazine, full choke barrel. My dad bought it for next to nothing at a garage sale in the 80's. I'm kind of on the fence about if he got a decent deal on it or not, because its really difficult for me to find much use for it. I suppose it would be at its best in a barn standing by for some form of pest control.

 

[jdsingleshot]

The J.C. Higgins/High Standard was as noted above. When I was a teenager, I also found that an additional round could be placed on the carrier. So I sometimes carried the gun with 3+1.

 

[Charlie Martinez]

The bolt action shotgun is not as good as a pump, auto or even a double SXS or O/U but there are still a few manufacturers that continue to sell low priced single shot shotguns as emergency type firearms for truck, varmint control, hikers, campers etc. Compared to a single shot a 3-shot bolt action shotgun is IMHO a better alternative.

The magazine of my BA Mossberg is very simple and (probably) very cheap to modify to fit another 2-3 rounds. It would certainly be an inexpensive way to make a decent emergency purpose shotgun better.

 

[entropy]

Most bolt action shotguns, aside from the Savage 220, are very rough in operation, definitely not like a Tikka or Sauer bolt! Most box mag ones I've seen, the mags are loose, hard to insert and hard to remove.
Savage/Stevens, Mossberg, and I think Noble made tube mag bolts.
My favorite bolt action shotgun is the Mauser Geha single shot. Thousands of Gew98's were converted after WWI. Up until fairly recently they could found around $100 at gun shows.
I saw a kid shoot a couple rounds of Trap with one once. Shot good scores, too.

 

[gobsauce]

Most bolt action shotguns, aside from the Savage 220, are very rough in operation, definitely not like a Tikka or Sauer bolt! Most box mag ones I've seen, the mags are loose, hard to insert and hard to remove.
Savage/Stevens, Mossberg, and I think Noble made tube mag bolts.
My favorite bolt action shotgun is the Mauser Geha single shot. Thousands of Gew98's were converted after WWI. Up until fairly recently they could found around $100 at gun shows.
I saw a kid shoot a couple rounds of Trap with one once. Shot good scores, too.

I've never shot one with a box mag, but I know that with the tube fed ones you have to be righteous cycling that bolt. Otherwise, the elevator won't rise.

 

[Old Hobo]

My 13th birthday got a 20 ga. Mossberg (or Sears?, same thing) bolt action, 2rnd mag. It had an adjustable choke that opened up or closed tighter depending on which way you twisted it.





Here's what a 5rnd mag looks like:

 

[Kano383]

There are detachable magazines for pump and semi-auto shotguns, 5 and 10 rounds. You can probably adapt one with small modifications.

Mossberg, Remington, Rock Island, Saiga, many others.

 

[wolf695]

Mossberg made a 4 round mag for the 595. They are very sought after, more than the gun! If you can find one it will fit 395, 495, 595 and 695 series guns.

 

[wolf695]

Yes to your first ?, I own a few of these. The Clect -a-choke will let you multi use this gun. cyl, Mod, full is marked by lines on the top behind the choke sleeve. On cyl, you can fire slugs 2 3/4", On mod, shot shells, and full, same.... just turn the sleeve to the right line....

 

[wolf695]

Now if you get a 300 series or newer you can get a 695 stock to put on it! No cracked stock that way. Victor at HAVLIN can fix you up.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

My Dad has a JC Higgins 12ga. bolt gun. It fits 5 x 2.75in. shells in the tube.

 

[jdsingleshot]

That J.C. Higgins can hold one more on the lifter, for a total of 6.