Shotgun sights -- what kind and why

[GJM]

GJM,

I didn't mean to diminish Charlie's score, that's a good score regardless of gender.

She most enjoys beating the boys, especially her husband.

[GJM]

Not my area of expertise as I am usually the guy in the condo with a great view, but I would not want to run 00 on a bear. This is something better handled with Slug. I am just fine with running the RDS over everything to put slugs where I want them with what is available. Unless folks are doing it different, the way I run my primary 870 is the gun come from ready to eye level when a decision to shoot has been made. I am looking at the target and as soon as the red dot transposes my vision on what I want to hit and press the trigger and a .70 caliber 1 ounce hunk of goodness is inbound to where the dot is......what is going to be faster with the surgical precision I would want on a Grizzly....or a Thug.

Brenneke slugs are all I load into the shotgun, with one rubber bullet projectile and one birdshot on the side saddle for special circumstances (harvesting a game bird or shooting a bear in the ass). I carry extra slugs in my pocket or on the belt, but absent some unusual circumstance, my reload is my pistol. I am indifferent between a 12 and 20, because I believe either gauge Brenneke will penetrate a bear's skull, and for those that look at it, sectional density is greater with the 20 gauge Brenneke slug.

A bear can't hurt you, without being close enough to touch you. The state of Alaska doesn't look favorably on people shooting bears defensively, just for existing near you. Shooting generally commences at distances inside 15 yards, once the bear has made its intentions known, with the marksmanship problem getting progressively easier with each shot. In my experimenting, I am faster putting slugs on target with a semi auto than a pump gun, and faster putting slugs at 3-15 yards into a bear skull sized target with a bead or open sights than aperture sights or an optic. Pure speed on target is extremely important on an animal that can weigh 1,000 pounds, run faster than a race horse, all the while bashing through dense underbrush, and first appearing within 10 yards of you coming at a dead run. Oh, and that bear might be accompanied by two 350 pound "children," following mom.

Additionally, the shotgun without an optic is lighter, trimmer, less subject to a battery/mechanical failure /operator rheostat error, or contamination by debris. Frequently, the shotgun is carried in remote areas, in inclement weather, in rough conditions (think bottom of the boat, back of the float plane, through thick brush, wading rivers and bogs, at times with 100 pound loads of fresh moose meat, and in downpours and snow that might last days, in temperatures down to -40.)

[Dagga Boy]

Again, it sounds like we have found solutions to our problems based on experience. If I could guarantee that every shot was within 10 yards and I would be standing and in daylight with no real gear......your front sight only Benelli's would be a solid choice.

My world has given me a need for a gun that can do a lot of varied things under varied conditions. It is likely why we both probably have far more guns than we need in safes to try to match the gun perfectly to he need.

[DocGKR]

Nyeti, great posts! Fully concur with everything you wrote above.

[GJM]

Nyeti, great posts! Fully concur with everything you wrote above.

You need to just use the like button.

[DocGKR]

Why?

I agree with what Nyeti wrote.

An RDS on a shotgun is the best option I've found for LE use. It is very quick, yet precise, while working well in a variety of lighting conditions--much like using an RDS on a carbine.

[GJM]

Why?

I agree with what Nyeti wrote.

An RDS on a shotgun is the best option I've found for LE use. It is very quick, yet precise, while working well in a variety of lighting conditions--much like using an RDS on a carbine.

Gary, it was a joke -- remember your comment about the like button in another thread. I wil go find it, if you don't remember.

[GJM]

Darryl, I absolutely agree this is a process of figuring out what works for each individual. I started out shooting an 11-87 in 3 Gun. Took an M1 Benelli to Zambia, and ended up following up a wounded lion with it there. Moved to Alaska, and the shotgun became my daily friend -- and for the last 13 years I have carried one daily in the summer months. For fun, I took a look at my photobucket account, and being pictures I posted as part of some discussion, it reflects my evolution of thinking in shotguns. The last picture wasn't mine, but was "edited" and sent to me by another forum member.

One of the first pictures in my account, was when the T1 first came out, and I put one on a 45-70



My first Vang 14 inch shotgun:



Our front "yard" at our cabin:



What we were protecting there:

[GJM]

my experimentation with the Mesa stock and T1 on the Vang:



"Visitors" about to beat feet to a warning shot:




EDC is remote Alaska:



First open sight "14:"



When the M4 project didn't pan out, and I first got the TX-4:



Why this stuff matters (from Kodiak):



More Beretta love:

[GJM]

TX4:



Prototype Brockman sight/rail:



OPen sights, as fall and darkness approaches. I hate those ports!




45-70 works too:



Five yards from our door:



20 gauge M2 experiment:



working stuff out at the cabin: