Shotgun Ideas

[Rob52240]

I promised an immigrant friend that I'd take him out to the public shotgun range as soon as soon as it's warm enough and dry enough.  He's never fired a gun before and I was thinking about getting some novelty ammunition to make it more fun.  The only thing is, I've never shot anything but slugs and pellets so I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on specialty rounds and what to shoot them at.

[Slash27]

Does the range allow that?

[rpm]

Does the range allow that?

This. If they do these are kinda fun.

[Rob52240]

It's a public range on a minimum maintenance road.  Yes you can shoot whatever the mashed potatoes  you want there so long as the road is passable.  I guess we're kind of fortunate to have 3 of these areas outside of town, one for shotguns, one for rifles and one for off road vehicles.

I was thinking about getting some flechette and dragons breath shells just for the heck of it.  Maybe a tennis ball soaked in gasoline can be thrown as a fun target for the latter.  They were a lot of fun to play soccer with when I was a kid until it always ended up rolling under a car.

[Maverick]

Use some frangible targets. Some clay pigeons, old taters, water jugs, just something to see go splat when hit.

[smoe]

Stop at a local gun store they may offer some advice. Best rules are to wear safety glasses and ear plugs, also best not to shoot at metal or glass targets.

[Babalonian]

This. If they do these are kinda fun.

The review doesn't look promising and they even look to be nothing but powder/blanks....  you ever used them?

[Golfer]

Bird bombs are fun.  I wouldn't worry so much about dragons breath and stuff like that.  Just get out, shoot safely and have targets that go poof.  If you have a whole lot of private land on which to play and no tightassed neighbors then Tannerite is a good investment for a fun afternoon.  You'll want to use centerfire rifles to set it off though.  I've not tried it with shotgun slugs and depending on the load not sure they would actually create the reaction.

[morfiend]

  Years ago I took a buddy out who never fired a shotgun either!  So I loaded a 2 and 3/4 shell and fired it with 1 hand to show him it wasnt that bad. Then I slpped a 3 inch mag in and gave him the gun,I'd shown him how to hold it so he was ready to go.

  He pulled the trigger and after the dust settled just looked at me and wondered how I fired it with1 hand.....    I took it back and fired it again,with 1 hand then handed it back to him at which time he said no thx I'll stick with the 22....


   Of course safety first guys!


   

[jeep00]

Does the range allow that?

Novelty ammo or "immigrant friends"?
At least you are doing this stuff at a range. Around here they just do this kind of stuff on back roads and dead ends then complain when it all gets shut down.

[Widewing]

If I were taking out someone with zero experience with firearms, I would not start them out with a 12 ga shotgun. There's several good reasons, not the least of which is the recoil and risk of developing bad habits related to the recoil. I'd start them with a .22 caliber rifle, either a bolt action or lever action. If you don't have either of those, a .22 semi-auto would be next. If all you have is a shotgun, I'd limit him to low brass bird shot. It's always better to introduce a beginner to the sport with something not painful or intimidating. As to specialty ammo... Very expensive, assuming you can find any these days. Ammo of any kind is currently scarce. You may find #8, #8 1/2 and #9 shot. This stuff is much less expensive.

[Rob52240]

If I were taking out someone with zero experience with firearms, I would not start them out with a 12 ga shotgun. There's several good reasons, not the least of which is the recoil and risk of developing bad habits related to the recoil. I'd start them with a .22 caliber rifle, either a bolt action or lever action. If you don't have either of those, a .22 semi-auto would be next. If all you have is a shotgun, I'd limit him to low brass bird shot. It's always better to introduce a beginner to the sport with something not painful or intimidating. As to specialty ammo... Very expensive, assuming you can find any these days. Ammo of any kind is currently scarce. You may find #8, #8 1/2 and #9 shot. This stuff is much less expensive.

All I got is shotguns and my Remington 870 recoils the least.

[rpm]

The review doesn't look promising and they even look to be nothing but powder/blanks....  you ever used them?

If you are wanting to surprise him bird scare shells are great. No big noise or kick when you pull the trigger, in fact it more of a "poot" as it fires the flash/bang charge out the barrel. While they are trying to figure out why it was so quiet the bird scare flash/bang goes off and it's very loud. Think grenade launcher but on a smaller scale.

Limited thrill, but it catches new shooters off guard every time.

[68ZooM]

Tannerite is always a fun lil explosive to use, cheap and fun to use. put a container of it in some stuffed animals and watch the carnage begin lol