Where have all the bolt action shotguns gone?

[wolf695]

I have noticed over the last 15 years, no one but Savage makes a bolt-action shotgun anymore! I mean is there no cause or room for skill anymore? I was taught the old saying" one shot one kill' I got to use my Dads old J.C.Higgins bolt-action single shot. When I was older I bought mossberg 185's then 195's,then 300 series, and finally settled on 695's. I taught my son's with old bolt mossbergs and even my exwife. I mean granted they aren't as pretty as many new shotguns,but they do the job!

 

[kozak6]

Browning currently makes an A-bolt shotgun.

 

[6x6pinz]

The only bolt action shotguns I have are 410. While they are fun to shoot once in a while it is like everything else, people are getting lazy. They want a semi auto shotgun so they don't have to do anything but pull the trigger. The days of conserving rounds is pretty much over. Watch people when in the field, they will just walk along and blast anything. When I started shooting if you did not get something with each shot or close to it, you did not get to go the next time. Rounds were expensive and you made each one count. Just look at the shooting areas. People leave hundreds of thousands of spent cases without a thought. The waste is out of control.

 

[Virginian]

If you think they are great fine, but its obvious the market went away when most people wised up. If you are a good enough wingshot to kill one duck with every shot, no zero cripples, my congratulations to you.

 

[BeerSleeper]

I've never shot, or even seen a bolt action shotgun. While I will agree, there are instances when a manual action shotgun is preferable to a semi auto, what advantage does a bolt gun have over a pump gun?

 

[Sam1911]

I mean is there no cause or room for skill anymore?

You'll find that most shotgun sports center around the ideal of two rapid shots. (Skeet, Trap, Sporting Clays) and many traditional shotgun hunting forms gave the opportunity for two or three (or more!) rapid shots at several birds in a flock. (Quail, ducks, geese, etc.) It is not imperative that you miss much, no matter how many shells the gun holds.

Back when folks were market-gunning for ducks, and even later when just hunting but before waterfowl laws became stricter (or were enforced) it was not uncommon for a decent wing-shooter to bring down four or five ducks out of an incoming flock. I have past relatives who shot a Remington 11 loose (i.e.: wore it out) over the course of a commercial hunting season. That wasn't because they missed a lot. They were packing ducks in barrels to ship to restaurants in Baltimore.

The bolt action shotguns were marketed largely to goose hunters. They usually came with very long full-choke barrels and were intended for making REAL long shots at geese from ground blinds. They've never been much more than a footnote in shotgun history. Most folks can't seem to convince themselves that there's any reason to use one for much of anything.

Heck, break-action single shots have been traditionally more popular. I mean, why do you want a bolt-action repeater? Isn't one shot good enough? Whatever happened to skill?

 

[MCgunner]

The way of the dinosaur. Is it SAVAGE? Somebody makes a slug gun out of a bolt action, I think. I think I've seen the advertizing somewhere, or maybe I haven't had enough coffee this morning.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Custom slug guns -

http://www.tarhunt.com/tarhunt/

 

[Bud Tugly]

Back about 50 years ago and earlier there was a very large price gap between single shot guns and repeaters (pumps/autoloaders). Even the cheapest repeaters had much more handwork involved making them so they were too costly for many average working stiffs. The bolt action filled the gap and served as the "poor man's repeater".

Modern manufacturing methods eliminating nearly all the handfitting have signifcantly narrowed the price gap so these days you can buy a pump and even some autos for only a little more than a single shot, so the bolt shotgun lost its niche.

 

[JohnM]

Back about 1960 I had a Mossberg bolt action 20 gauge.
I'd been drooling over the full page ads for it in Sports Afield and such and thought it was the coolest looking shotgun ever
I finally talked my Dad into getting me for my birthday I think.
Don't remember what they cost back then, but I doubt it was very much.
They really were clunkers. I still remember how it was almost impossible to get off a quick second shot without the thing jamming.

 

[rcmodel]

I agree completely.

It was never about efficiency or making you a better shot.

Back when, bolt-action shotguns were very cheap to manufacture, so could be sold very cheap as entry level guns that cost not much more then a single-shot.

Today, it costs just as much to make a bolt-action on a CNC machine as it does to make a superior pump that sells for very similar prices.

As a matter of fact, the cheapest Savage bolt-action is $419.
The cheapest Savage pump gun is $206!

rc

 

[oneounceload]

Bolt actin shotguns handle like the proverbial "pig on a shovel" if nothing else

 

[Bud Tugly]

Also, while not impossible, it takes a LOT of practice to successfully shoot doubles with a bolt shotgun. I saw my dad do it a few times, but the only shotgun he ever owned was a 20 gauge bolt and he hunted with it all his life.

Even a relative beginner can stay on target fairly well with a pump or semi-auto for follow-up shots, and, with practice, second shots from a single shot aren't that much slower than with a bolt. Without the price advantage, bolt guns just don't have much going for them.

I suppose they have some appeal for deer hunting since bolt rifles are so common. Also, the receiver on a bolt action locks up very securely so theoretically they might be able to handle very heavy loads better than some other actions.

 

[W.E.G.]

the receiver on a bolt action locks up very securely so theoretically they might be able to handle very heavy loads better than some other actions

So you think that bolt-handle is real strong?

Only thing that keeps the bolt from coming right back into your face is
the the bolt handle riding in a slot on the receiver.

Essentially, its a single two-piece locking lug.

I've never heard of one failing - but that doesn't mean I'm impressed with the strength of the design.

 

[JohnBT]

All of my shotguns will fire just a single shot. If I load a single shot.

I shot quite a few used .410 bolt guns as a kid and hated every single one of them. Handling like a pig on a shovel is exactly right. Maybe they've improved over the past 50 or 60 years.

John

 

[Bud Tugly]

Well, I'm certainly far from being an expert so I defer to those with more knowledge and experience about the relative strengths of actions. Also, I'm no fan of bolt shotguns since I bought one once over 40 years ago and got rid of it as quick as I could.

Just saying they once had a niche.

 

[Red Cent]

Ya gotta have at least one.

 

[Chawbaccer]

I have one of the Mossbergs 20 gage down in the safe. I kind of keep it for a loaner gun when a friend or relative wants to use it. The magazine holds two shells, one usually falls out when attaching the mag to the gun. As for pointing, kind of like a 2x8.

 

[lowerunit411]

i learned to shoot on a 20 ga mossberg bolt....i still have it. i killed a lot of rabbits, a few ducks and a world of squirrels with it when i was a kid.... it was heave (at the time) clumsy, a pita generally and everytime i take it out of the safe i feel like im back home. As far as its relevance in this day....dunno....not for me i think

 

[Chawbaccer]

Red Cent, I used to have a 98 converted to 12 guage. It was my turkey shoot gun way back. With a peep sight it was very accurate.

 

[rcmodel]

Ya gotta have at least one

Well at least yours has real locking lugs on the bolt!!

rc

 

[JohnM]

The magazine holds two shells, one usually falls out when attaching the mag to the gun. As for pointing, kind of like a 2x8.

That one I had sure wasn't one of my better choices
I sold it in about 65 along with some others when I needed some money.

 

[Red Cent]

Chawbaccer, probably semantics but as I understand it, Germany was not allowed to make rifles after their surrender. So they made shotguns. I have never fired the beast. But like RC said, its gotta be strong.

 

[ledheplin]

So you think that bolt-handle is real strong?

Only thing that keeps the bolt from coming right back into your face is
the the bolt handle riding in a slot on the receiver.

Essentially, its a single two-piece locking lug.

I've never heard of one failing - but that doesn't mean I'm impressed with the strength of the design.

I've got an old .410 that's oneof the earlier models of this and it has never failed me and the bolt handle is extremely strong. I love shooting it because it's always a nice challenge.

 

[oneounceload]

Nice parts list - I like the "no order accepted under 35 cents".....wish parts were that way now