In American shotgun lore, the 16 gauge still possesses the sweet fragrance of nostalgia when, back in the day, upland hunting with a hardware store gun carried on the open range or along fence rows with your favorite dog produced explosive coveys.
Shotguns
There are two challenges to finding a great shotgun — fit and suitability.
The shotguns section of Shotgun Life is dedicated to helping you recognize the perfect shotgun (that you’ll want to keep for the rest of your life, and then hand down to your family for generations to come.)
For some people, finding a great shotgun is simply love at first sight. For others, a great shotgun grows on them — and they find themselves down in the basement cleaning it for absolutely no other reason than just to be in its company.
But for every shotgun owner who falls in love with their pride-and-joy, there are teams of engineers and craftsmen toiling away behind the scenes to bring your gun to fruition.
As you’ll see, shotguns are generally designed for a particular sport. Some shotguns have composite stocks and fore-ends to withstand the travails of duck hunting. Then there are single-shot trap guns with high ribs that help you intercept rising targets. And skeet shooters find that their beavertail fore-end is particularly adept at bringing about a smooth, quick swing.
So let the search begin. Here is what you’ll find in our shotgun section…
- Shotguns for Clays and Wingshooting
- Shotgun Actions
- Break Actions
- Over/Under
- Side-by-Side
- Single-Barrel Shotgun
- Semiautomatics
- Pumps
- Skeet Shotguns
- Trap Shotguns
- WaterFowl Shotguns
- Upland Shotguns
His Shotgun
“OK, kid, go get my shotgun from the house and we’ll take Duke to see if we can find a covey of birds.”
Most of my hunting adventures with my grandfather began that way. I can still hear those words today when I search my memories of him. The simple act of writing this story brings a smile to my face as I recall the man who introduced me to both hunting and the outdoors.
The Untold Story Behind the Most Extraordinary Flight of British Best Guns Ever Made
Some people might call it a twinge of melancholy, especially with the arrival of autumn in the Northeast, but you begin to feel an obligation to tell a story about your life that few people have heard, with an eye on the distant horizon toward posterity. For me, this particular story is about my contribution to the most remarkable flight of British best guns ever made.
“THE RED.” From Father to Son…Wood and Metal Passed Down.
The first time I saw my father’s brand-new shotgun, he was using a small white towel to wipe down the twin barrels. The long blue metal stacked tubes glinted with the bouncing light off the room. The shotgun was less than a day old. He had saved his money for months. When the time had come, he went down to the local gun shop where he had first laid eyes on the Ruger Red Label.
Peter Hofer – Gun and Riflemaker
At the service of hunters all over the world for half of the past millenium.
Over the last five hundred years, the individual and practical wishes of countless hunters have led to the development of many different weapon models. However, there were always only a few very talented gunsmiths who were responsible for the new innovations. Peter Hofer has set new standards for this traditional and rare craft with his ingenuity and inventiveness.
Nowadays other hunting weapon manufacturers around the world have just four different weapon models to offer, and the age-old experience and know-how accumulated over time is being buried as elder gunsmiths retire, it seems incomprehensible that Peter Hofer should offer such a wide variety of different hunting weapons. The fact that Peter Hofer’s hunting weapons are crafted by hand are the basis for his many models almost limitless possibilities.
Learn more:
Peter Hofer – Gun and Riflemaker – Austria
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Peter Hofer
Shotgunning in the Automatic Mind: The Creation of the Most Beautiful Shotgun Instruction Book Ever Published
In 2001, Margaret Wilfley finally put her foot down. She was no longer going to be a bystander after watching her husband Mike and friends during a week in England shooting driven birds. She would learn shotgunning. Mike knew she meant it and years of marriage told him that he needed to find an excellent coach rather than try to teach her himself. Friends recommended Warren Watson. From the very first lesson, it was clear why.
Dove Hunting with a Department Store Shotgun
Standing in between the edge rows in a field of standing corn, I loosely grasped the wooden forend of the mid-1970s-era shotgun. The shotgun felt strange in my hands. Unorthodox. Yet, the connection had been in the making for over 40 years. The same amount of time had passed for the slightly tight-fitting “brown duck” (think Carhartt) colored game vest I had donned that morning. Yellow shells sat loosely in the outstretched dark brown shell holders on the vest. Was I grasping at memories?
How to Clean Your Shotgun With Sage & Braker
In order to ensure that your firearms continue to function properly and shoot accurately, it is important that you appropriately clean them. Fortunately, guns that are properly cleaned and maintained will work reliably for many years. Keep reading to learn how to clean a gun using a Sage & Braker gun cleaning kit. While dirt, carbon, and lead/copper fouling will not damage your firearm by themselves, they can adversely affect the accuracy and reliability of your firearm. However, salt and water are the two worst enemies of firearms, so it is essential that you keep your firearms dry and clean them as soon as possible if they are ever exposed to salt.
The “Wow” of Kemen’s Titanium 20-Bore Matched Pair
“Wow” came to mind in each and every stage of shooting a matched pair of titanium 20-bore Kemens. When I first opened the case and saw them like a mirror image of each other with their brilliant Baco engraving, when I shouldered the gun, when I swung at a hard crosser, the perfectly supple trigger, when I opened it to reload – every touch point and shooting experience with these surprisingly affordable exotic shotguns evoked superlatives.
The 828U Sporting Over/Under Continues Benelli’s Legacy of Innovation
The Benelli 828U is a gun of firsts, and the follow-on Sporting model continues that legacy.
It is the first over and under produced by the company known for its semi-automatics.
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About Shotgun Life
Shotgun Life is the first online magazine devoted to the great people who participate in the shotgun sports.
Our goal is to provide you with the best coverage in wing and clays shooting. That includes places to shoot, ways to improve your shooting and the latest new products. Everything you need to know about the shotgun sports is a mouse-click away.
Contact
Irwin Greenstein
Publisher
Shotgun Life
PO Box 6423
Thomasville, GA 31758
Phone: 229-236-1632
