what makes a shotgun a shot gun and not a rifle

[bigrich954rr]

My one buddy keeps wanting me to go hunting with him. but where he hunts it shotgun only state <a href="http://longrangehunting.com/ubbthreads/law">law</a> not because of lack of long range shooting. ive seen a bolt action shotgun for deer hunting. could i get a custom one made to be more like a rifle. load it with slower powder and longer barrel to pick up more speed.

[DONTSTROKEME]

I could be corrected here but....

I understand the difference to be what is actually loaded into the firearm. You can shoot 22lr solids or "birdshot" and I would still call the 22 a rifle. Just using "birdshot". It is not the same as a "Scattergun" but it is being used as a "shot" firearm. I feel the main reason areas use the shotgun only restriction is to keep the surrounding houses or people safe. A 22LR says that the range is 1.5 miles, where as a 00 buckshot should hit the ground within 300 yards. A slug is different yet, in Washington I am pretty sure that you can use a rifled shotgun with a slug in shotgun only areas. But it will do alot of damage if it hits a house or car, or goes astray.
This is why I would understand an area being shotgun only.

Rifeling is what makes a rifle, by definetion. A shotgun will have a smooth bore.

A simple slug gun would be accurate to 150 yards, one that is rifled.....these are my opinions so I could be corrected here.

Joe Oakes

[MachV]

Ya could but it gets spendy and your not gona get much farther.There is usualy moren on way to skin a cat though.The rifled slug barrels and sabots are makeing 175 yards posible.Depending on the state you can also us a pistol or muzzle loader.In the case of Mn you could use a 300Wm(or other sane round) in a TC encore pistol and be in comliance.
Personaly I like my 1300 winchester and would and do use it anytime the range doesnt exeede 200yards.

[timl]

bigrich--check out tarhunt.com--lots of info on custom bolt action slug guns.

[James Jones]

I've shot a few custom slug guns one made by Tar-Hunt and they shot realy well but for the money I don't feel that they are worth it.
The thing thats gonna limit your speed in a slug gun the case , shotguns are limited to about 12,000psi

I've done some testing with shotguns by cutting the barrel back to see where the velocity stars to drop off and that generaly around 16" so by getting a 20" barreled shot gun the only thing you would be loosing would be site radius.
I have a couple tactical shotguns that wil shoot the old Foster type slugs into centermass all day at 100yds off hand and they are smooth bore guns.
With a properly assembled Rem 870 with a fully rifled barrel and the new sabot ammo out their I don't see 175-200yds being out of site. I bult a turkey gun for a close friend of the family on the Rem 870 , using a 21" rifle sited Rem barrel that was backbored , forcing cone lengthened and the Rhino choke lapped to the bore , the trigger worked and threaded pin instead of the friction type pins that hold it together it shoot realy well , better than any Benilli of Bereta I've shot.

But check the regs , if you can hunt with a handgun get yourself an Encore with a 308 barrel and you'll be good to go out past 400yds.

[Len Backus]

THis year I have started hunting on my buddy's land in a shotgun county. I am using a borrowed handgun which is legal there, too. Meanwhile I am researching other gun options for the future. Blackpowder and shotguns have come a long way in accuracy. Slug guns can put 3 shots in a couple inches at 100 yards. But...I am discouraged by what I just read about bullet drift in wind.

Tar-Hunt slug guns

On page 14, it is mentioned that a 10 MPH sidewind results in 14 inches of drift at 150 yards. I'd guess this means nearly 2 feet at 200 yards.

[edge]

If they allow muzzleloaders AND allow the use of smokeless powder then you can buy a Savage muzzleloader and shoot 200 yards easily. You could also buy a 45 caliber custom barrel and eliminate the sabot entirely.

edge.