10 Gauge Goose Gun

[F250]

I have hunted with a couple buddies who swear by their 10 ga. guns. I'll keep my eyes open around here for you. I spend a bit of time in the winter drinking coffee at local gun shops.

 

[squirrel]

Since all my plastic honkers melted in a fire I've been thinking of selling my bps 10, but it holds so many memories... Probably a lot just like that sitting in a safe not used but not for sale either. About ammo- if your gun will function on it (damn auto's) get a simple single stage press and you have everything covered from quail to swans. A 10 is incredibly versatile if you handload. Now handy in a quail thicket it is NOT... but it makes for good conversation. Always wanted to get a woodcock with mine but never did.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Since all my plastic honkers melted in a fire I've been thinking of selling my bps 10, but it holds so many memories... Probably a lot just like that sitting in a safe not used but not for sale either. About ammo- if your gun will function on it (damn auto's) get a simple single stage press and you have everything covered from quail to swans. A 10 is incredibly versatile if you handload. Now handy in a quail thicket it is NOT... but it makes for good conversation. Always wanted to get a woodcock with mine but never did.

I do a lot of reloading for my 12 gauge and appreciate the versatility option. However, for a twelve gauge there are dozens of options for wads. I expect there are a lot fewer options available for a ten gauge? How did you manage loading 10 gauge down to light loads? Were you able to modify the typical waterfowl wads? I have a large sack of ancient sixteen gauge paper wads that I split in half and drop in the wad cup for sub 1 oz loads. Or I can put them in the middle of the shot column for a sort-of spreader load. Just wondering what you did.

 

[SaskHunter]

Get yourself that canon! I personally can't stand any of my pump actions with 3 1/2 inch shells because I'm too much of a wimp but if I could, I would!

 

[ImBillT]

I’d recommend looking for a reloader while you’re at it.

I look forward to the day that I can find a 10ga in price range and afford a reloader for it. For shot larger than 2’s, especially steel shot, a 10ga is the way to go.

I read and read and read about how a 3.5” 12ga was worthless, the recoil is terrible, the noise is terrible, they pattern poorly etc. Then I bought one at a great price, and I love it. It’s a long way from necessary. Some of my best outings have been with a 20ga, and I’ve had some outings with the 3.5” 12ga that were rather unimpressive, however, I’m confident that on the average, I do better with the 3.5” 12ga than with a 20ga, or with payloads that fit in a 3” 12ga.

Because my 3.5” 12ga fits me better, I honestly find the recoil with 2.25oz loads to be milder than my old 12ga was was 1.5oz loads. The recoil doesn’t bother me at all. I was nervous the first time, because those 1.5oz loads did bother me in the other gun.

 

[OntarioHunter]

I’d recommend looking for a reloader while you’re at it.

I look forward to the day that I can find a 10ga in price range and afford a reloader for it. For shot larger than 2’s, especially steel shot, a 10ga is the way to go.

I read and read and read about how a 3.5” 12ga was worthless, the recoil is terrible, the noise is terrible, they pattern poorly etc. Then I bought one at a great price, and I love it. It’s a long way from necessary. Some of my best outings have been with a 20ga, and I’ve had some outings with the 3.5” 12ga that were rather unimpressive, however, I’m confident that on the average, I do better with the 3.5” 12ga than with a 20ga, or with payloads that fit in a 3” 12ga.

Because my 3.5” 12ga fits me better, I honestly find the recoil with 2.25oz loads to be milder than my old 12ga was was 1.5oz loads. The recoil doesn’t bother me at all. I was nervous the first time, because those 1.5oz loads did bother me in the other gun.

Curious, what are you using 3" magnum 1.5 oz loads for? Must be lead shot?

 

[MTGunner]

Need has nothing to do with it. Want trumps need. MTG

 

[Borny1]

You don't have to shoot 10 gauge shells through one. I've watched my old man shoot 12's through his several times .

 

[sharpshooter97]

I always wanted a 10 gauge when I used to do a lot of goose hunting especially when I was pass shooting. The only 10 I've shot was an old single shot and man did that gun kick. Best of luck searching for one I've heard good things of the bps

 

[bullbugle307]

Git 'r dun...
Finding ammo may be the biggest hurdle

Where I'm at, 10 gauge is about the only shotgun ammo you can get.

 

[Zootownelk]

Rogers has cases of 10ga shells on sale now, or they did at least not long ago. I purchased a case for my Ithaca Mag 10. Good luck- love getting the 10 out!

 

[ImBillT]

Curious, what are you using 3" magnum 1.5 oz loads for? Must be lead shot?

Cranes. Lead is legal on cranes here, and that was a 2 3/4” load. There are a handful of 1 5/8oz lead loads in a Federal .090” basewad 2 3/4” hull, but I never got them to pattern like 1.5oz in an STS with an RP12 wad. 1.5oz of buffered, nickel plated lead 2s or 3s, in an RP12 in front of a mild load Blue Dot through a full is pretty hard to beat on cranes. 2.25oz of un-buffered nickel plated 1s or 2s does beat it though.

Having shot a lot of cranes and geese with 1 1/8oz of steel 2s, I can say that 1 1/8oz-1 1/4oz of buffered lead 4s in a 20ga is sufficient as well. A friend and his son did quite well this morning with 1 1/4oz of lead 4s in both 20ga and 12ga.

I think that it’s hard to tell the difference between I enough, and the maximum load in a single hunt. On the average I do better with 1.5oz of 1s, 2s or 3s than 1.125oz of 4s, and better yet with 2.25oz of 1’s or 2s. I also think that it’s pretty difficult to get the most out of a 20ga with pellets larger than 4s(lead or steel), a 16ga with pellets larger than 3s, or a 12ga with pellets larger than 2s, or perhaps 1s. If you’re going to shoot 1s, Bs, or BBs, a 10ga is your answer!

 

[squirrel]

I do a lot of reloading for my 12 gauge and appreciate the versatility option. However, for a twelve gauge there are dozens of options for wads. I expect there are a lot fewer options available for a ten gauge? How did you manage loading 10 gauge down to light loads? Were you able to modify the typical waterfowl wads? I have a large sack of ancient sixteen gauge paper wads that I split in half and drop in the wad cup for sub 1 oz loads. Or I can put them in the middle of the shot column for a sort-of spreader load. Just wondering what you did.

All of my 10 GA Know how came out of ballistics Products research. They Produce at least one good full size wad and it has changed over the years as the technology progresses on non-toxic shot. (the hay-day of the 10 was with lead, it was incredible) Remington has a generic power piston style 10 also i used without very impressive results, maybe user error I dunno. I use the BPD 10 and fillers for light loads. Fillers can be under size felts but after realizing how much it cost to throw that felt into the air I just use TP as a filler.

Now with Covid it might make sense to go back to felt? Anyway for an in-field goose pit emergency call you can always shoot three shells in the air and have an emergency supply of tp float back down to ya...

If you want to make yourself smarter in all things shotgun reloading wise get "the mighty 10 guage" by ballistics products. It has a ton of good info in there for heavy hunting loads including the addendum for slugs and buckshot and the follow-up publication of "status of steel" I haven't followed any of the costly alternatives to lead as my need to shoot extra geese at long pass shooting ranges died out after I got my first 500. If they don't decoy they get to nest next spring...

THE MIGHTY 10 GA. has a lot of good info about general shotgunning in the field and is specific towards using a big heavy shotgun like the 10 under field conditions. Of course they are big on using the right loads tailored to your specific needs of the day/conditions. This is very helpful if you use an auto for choosing a clean burning powder for your expected temperature double guns and BPS's are much more forgiving in this regard.

Those old HR single shot's?? Only bring that out at parties when some guy has too many beer muscles showing. Toss in a 2-1/2 oz lead shell and tee 'er up! Better yet a 1-2/3 oz slug load going at 1500 fps. I got a box of 25 of those, still have 22 left because I lost two in the aftermath of unloading it, and that was from a 10 lb pump.

The only downfall of a 10 (if you handload) is the weight of the gun. 6 hrs of port arms while walking CRP grass is just more suffering than I care to self- inflict, with a 9 lb gun and 5-2oz shells up the pipe it seems to always end up slung over my shoulder as the rooster flushes, and this problem gets worse with each passing birthday. I mostly carry my BSS 20 ga. now, if they flush out past 50 yards they get to nest next spring...

 

[BrooksRanger]

I really appreciate all of the feedback that is being presented here fellas. I'm learning quite a bit more about the mythical if somewhat less used 10 gauge by reading your experiences and suggestions. It's pretty scarce out there trying to find the gun that I'm looking for, but when I do find one I'll certainly have a much greater appreciation for what I'm shooting than if I just picked one up a the store, dropped some shells in and started firing.

The last two season I've been using a 12 gauge with 3.5 in BBs but unfortunately due to the way the geese fly here they tend to be higher than my ability to reach out to touch them most of the time. The hunting is additionally challenging because I hunt on a tidal flat and as many of you know the tide changes a little bit every day. So one day's perfect location to set up may be gone the next day. It's a constantly changing situation with mostly guesswork on where the geese will be and if they'll fly before shooting hours start. The good news is that many of the geese that I see are local so I can get after them quite often, but the bad news is they get real smart real fast after the shooting starts following the season opener.

All in all, it sure is a real privilege to get out in the dark hours of the morning to watch the mountains and glacier slowly become visible. Sometimes the morning stillness is even broken by the sounds of whales and sea lions feeding off shore as well. Even if I don't bring home a goose, I can't think of a better way to bring in the day than enjoying the beauty around me. Hopefully I'll be able to improve my tactics, and not just bring a larger bore to the hunt next Fall.

 

[OntarioHunter]

BrooksRanger: I was a USNPS ranger at Brooks Camp several years ago. Are you there or Brooks Range?

Goose hunting those tidal flats can be dangerous business. Seem to lose a lot of waterfowlers up there. That mud can be tricky.

Squirrel: Thanks for the feedback. Like you, I shoot only the good shots these days. An empty nest widower I never ate much in the best of times. A couple dozen honkers is more than enough. Also I'm on the leading edge of the migration and no late season hunting ... at all. Waterfowl was all gone by October 15 this year. My situation is somewhat unique. Small irregular fields of barley and feed corn provide cover on the edges but even dumb new honkers will rarely land closer than fifty yards so I set the deeks out 45-60 yards and use the wind as the geese come in over me. This year I never unloaded the decoys. Just pass shot honkers as they left the fields or jump shot them from small sloughs. If there was more jump shooting I'd dump my decoys at Salvation Army. I like to stay on the move.

A ten gauge is not something I can even consider. Three retina detachment surgeries and multiple laser repairs put an end to my 1968 Wingmaster 870 magnum several years ago. I went with the heaviest auto I could find: 31" Browning A5 Magnum Twelve. Even with aftermarket plastic stock set it probably still weighs nine pounds. I tricked it out so it will reliably shoot everything from 7/8 oz trap loads to 1 1/8 oz steel goose loads. The light trap loads shoot incredibly soft but I seem to get my best scores with hotter 1250 fps 1 1/8 oz. Once in a while in bad weather I'll dust off the old fixed breech 870 for trap league. Yeah, I notice the difference! "How the hell did I put up with that for 35 years?" I also have a Light Twelve that I can switch to for uplands but last couple of years I have been hunting a federal refuge mostly which requires steel shot. Its fixed modified barrel is too tight for a good steel pattern (= full choke). Also my dogs are now very well tuned so most shots at pheasants, even late in the season, are not long. I stayed with the big gun this year and skeet tube never left the barrel for either lead or steel. Didn't miss many shots. It is heavy but perfectly balanced where the fore end meets the receiver. That makes a big difference. I carried my brother's BAR 300 Win one afternoon hunting mulies and it was hard on my back. A very out of balance heavy gun with too much weight too far forward. When carrying a gun weight should be centered between the hands not out in front on left hand.

That ten gauge book you cited should be an extremely valuable resource for this fella. Re TP confetti: A young college student at the club picked up a freebie MEC 600 loader and several bags of old Winchester red wads for paper shells. I found him a dirt cheap keg of old CIL powder (actually repackaged WWII artillery powder) and the kid was in business. He uses plastic hulls with cotton balls as buffer and the shower of fuzz after each shot always gets a few chuckles. But it works ... which is more than I can say for his Turkish Mossturd O/U. Third set of firing pins. Now he has pretty much stopped using buffer and instead cuts down worn out AA hulls to 2.5" Heh, heh. Neccessity is the mother of invention.

 

[Franky'sFolly]

I have a Rem SP 10 and I don’t find recoil that bad, even with turkey loads. It weighs 11 pounds plus it’s gas operated so it soaks it up, more a big shove than a sharp rap. Rather shoot that than my 7lb Benelli 12 ga with 3 inchers.

Not to detail the thread but I was wondering if any HT'ers have had experience with both SP-10s and the Browning's? I have no need for a 10 gauge but have always been fascinated by them. I rarely hunt geese but feel like coyote hunting would be a good enough excuse for one.

It seems like Browning and Remington are the only realistic options, and I am wondering if anyone has an opinion on the quality of either shotgun?

 

[Nick87]

Not to detail the thread but I was wondering if any HT'ers have had experience with both SP-10s and the Browning's? I have no need for a 10 gauge but have always been fascinated by them. I rarely hunt geese but feel like coyote hunting would be a good enough excuse for one.

It seems like Browning and Remington are the only realistic options, and I am wondering if anyone has an opinion on the quality of either shotgun?

No sp-10 experience. My old browning gold that I bought used has served me well. I will add the coyote loads are considerably harder to find than steel shot at least in my experience.

 

[Franky'sFolly]

No sp-10 experience. My old browning gold that I bought used has served me well. I will add the coyote loads are considerably harder to find than steel shot at least in my experience.

I was leaning towards the Browning as well. My dad has always had slight hoarding tendencies when it comes to reloading components. Ammo thankfully would not be an issue. I have had good luck on coyotes shooting 2 oz BB loads in a 3" 12 ga. I think you could cook up a mean load similar to that in a 10.

 

[squirrel]

I was leaning towards the Browning as well. My dad has always had slight hoarding tendencies when it comes to reloading components. Ammo thankfully would not be an issue. I have had good luck on coyotes shooting 2 oz BB loads in a 3" 12 ga. I think you could cook up a mean load similar to that in a 10.

My favorite lead load of plated BB's was 2-1/2 oz at 1100 fps, great pattern density and folds honkers cleanly out to 100 yards. Word of caution if shooting any coyotes straight above you the butt of the gun acts about like a pile driver on your collar bone!

 

[Franky'sFolly]

My favorite lead load of plated BB's was 2-1/2 oz at 1100 fps, great pattern density and folds honkers cleanly out to 100 yards. Word of caution if shooting any coyotes straight above you the butt of the gun acts about like a pile driver on your collar bone!

Out of a 10 gauge right?