Rifled Barrels

roy reali · October 14, 2005, 09:46 PM

I know that shotguns with rifled barrels are to be used with slugs, specifically sabot ones. I also realize that firing birdshot through one will not result in the best patterns. But will it hurt the gun? Will it harm the rifling?

psycho nut · October 14, 2005, 10:13 PM

They make birdshot for .22s and some pistols, I don't think it will hurt it.

kozak6 · October 14, 2005, 10:52 PM

It probably won't hurt the rifling, but it will give you doughnut-shaped groupings.

Dfariswheel · October 15, 2005, 01:17 AM

Firing shot or buckshot through a rifled shotgun barrel will cause the bore to lead BADLY, and the lead is HELL to get out.

And as above, the shot is "swirled" by the rifling so that when it exits the bore, it shoots large donut shaped patterns with a hole in the middle.

This is so scattered that you really get no pattern at all, and combined with the hole in the middle, any hits on target are pure luck.

October 14, 2005, 09:46 PM	#1
roy reali Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2005 Posts: 3,248	Rifled Barrels I know that shotguns with rifled barrels are to be used with slugs, specifically sabot ones. I also realize that firing birdshot through one will not result in the best patterns. But will it hurt the gun? Will it harm the rifling?

October 14, 2005, 10:13 PM	#2
psycho nut Senior Member Join Date: June 3, 2005 Location: Nebraska Posts: 480	They make birdshot for .22s and some pistols, I don't think it will hurt it. __________________ I can't spel.

October 14, 2005, 10:52 PM	#3
kozak6 Senior Member Join Date: June 16, 2005 Location: AZ Posts: 3,113	It probably won't hurt the rifling, but it will give you doughnut-shaped groupings.

October 15, 2005, 01:17 AM	#4
Dfariswheel Senior Member Join Date: May 4, 2001 Posts: 7,478	Firing shot or buckshot through a rifled shotgun barrel will cause the bore to lead BADLY, and the lead is HELL to get out. And as above, the shot is "swirled" by the rifling so that when it exits the bore, it shoots large donut shaped patterns with a hole in the middle. This is so scattered that you really get no pattern at all, and combined with the hole in the middle, any hits on target are pure luck.